COMEDY
Pleasant without being noteworthy, this amiable comedy is like a TV movie blessed with superior casting. You won't mind having seen Welcome to Mooseport, but it will exit your mind as soon as you exit the theater.
Romano plays a plumber in tiny Mooseport, Maine, in this Capraesque (emphasis on the "-esque") comedy. He winds up running for mayor against a popular, just-retired U.S. President (Hackman) after the former prez puts the moves on his estranged girlfriend (Tierney), the local vet. There are a few sharp jokes here, but mostly it's modest stuff. Everyone Loves Raymond's Romano comes across pretty much as he does on TV: a bumbling nice guy. Hackman doesn't strain himself, Tierney is likably acerbic, and Harden and Christine Baranski have amusing turns as, respectively, the President's loyal aide and his malicious ex-wife. (PG-13)
