Sam sets up a lair in a deserted building across from the new lovers apartment, and watches and chronicles their every move. Its not long before his painful solitude is disrupted by the arrival of Maggie, the jilted girlfriend of Anton who completes the foursome.

The girlfriend, Linda, is played by Kelly Preston, in real life, the wife of John Travolta. Preston is the only weak link of the movie, since she has very little to do, except to be the object of desire. Tcheky Karyo's Anton is comfortably predictable, as is Broderick's heartbroken Sam. But it is Maggie, played by Meg Ryan, who is really spectacular. She is the last character to appear on the screen, but the film belongs totally to her. Ryan's performance employs her usual little girl innocence, but with a nasty kick. This little girl means business. Indeed, Maggie doesn't just have a bone to pick with her ex-lover, she plans to break every bone in his body, and that's just for starters! Between them, Maggie and Sam transport the lives of their ex-lovers into their own rundown abode. Sam borrows some equipment from his observatory back home to create a camera obscura that projects the images of Linda and Anton onto the wall. Maggie then employs some sophisticated bugging equipment to add sound to the pictures, and an elaborate voyeuristic enterprise is established. Maggie and Sam then settle back to watch the movie within the movie, of the private lives of their loves.

Thus the scene is set and the players are in place and since there are few surprises or hidden plots to unravel, its particularly easy to predict what will happen, and how the movie will end. Along the way there are some delightful moments, and in particular a cameo by Dominick Dunne as the culinary critic who samples some unusual delicacies in Anton's restaurant. Dominick Dunne is the father of the film's director, Griffin Dunne, who makes a particularly fine debut as a director with this movie.

But the real delight of this film is the magic of Meg Ryan. Indeed, everything about the film is geared to show Ryan to perfection. Sam's small town ineptitude and inability to act is balanced by Maggie's unflinching desire for revenge. Sam watches and waits, while Maggie strikes. Like a Miss Haversham of the 90s, Maggie's life ceases due to her distress at being jilted. Unlike Dicken's wronged woman, however, Maggie freezes her career and her life only long enough to claim her revenge.

I thought the film was wonderful. Discard logic, since the story is hardly believable. Instead, prepare to enjoy the absurdity of this flick and focus your attention on the female protagonist. Meg Ryan is a complicated and interesting heroine who lights up the screen and makes the film worthwhile.