Set to the background of upscale Manhattan bars, lofts and apartments, the guys engage in sharp banter and one-upsmanship.

The men spend much of their time trying to decipher the word "pompatus," from the Steve Miller song, wondering whether they are mis-hearing the lyrics: "Prophetess"?

The characters, Mark, a therapist (Jon Cryer); Runyon, a playwright (Tim Guinee); Josh, a playboy (Adrian Pasdar) and Phil, a plumber (Adam Oliensis), try (generally unsuccessfully) to sort out their troubled love-lives.

He at least has a dinner date with someone new for Friday The womanizing Josh is hung up on Phil's sister, Gina (Paige Turco), who has an abusive husband.

Phil, who is married with children, finds himself attracted to an older English interior designer (Kristin Scott Thomas) who is coming on to him regularly.

[3] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it 2/4 stars and wrote, "This is an overdirected and overedited film, in love with the technique of short cuts in which characters finish each other's sentences.

[5] Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times called it "a literate, funny film about men, women and the many mysteries of love in the 1990s".