A Cool, Dry Place

Russell Durrell is a lawyer raising his young son Calvin on his own after his wife, Kate, leaves the family without explanation. He gives up a lucrative position at a Chicago firm to look after the boy, coaching basketball on the side, and a relationship begins with Beth Ward, the sister of one of his players. When Kate unexpectedly returns and wants to reclaim her place in their lives, Russell finds himself pulled between his new partner and the woman who walked away, while a career opportunity forces him to weigh what he actually wants.

The film is a drama with romantic elements, directed by John N. Smith from a screenplay by Matthew McDuffie. It was Smith's second feature, following Dangerous Minds three years earlier. Vince Vaughn plays Russell, with Monica Potter as Kate, Joey Lauren Adams as Beth, Bobby Moat as Calvin, Devon Sawa as Noah Ward and Todd Louiso as Bob Harper. It runs 97 minutes and was produced by Fox 2000 Pictures with Jacobs/Mutrux, with Gail Mutrux and Katie Jacobs producing.

Audience response has been moderate: on IMDb it sits at 6.2 out of 10 across roughly 3,300 votes, while on TMDB it holds 5.9 out of 10 from a much smaller sample of 39. A critics' rating of 5.5 out of 10, drawn from 13 reviews, places professional assessment slightly below the larger audience figure, though neither indicates strong enthusiasm.