LOS
ANGELES
(Reuters):
If
love
works
in
mysterious
ways,
the
strangest
affair
of
the
summer
must
be
between
Sandra
Bullock
and
Keanu
Reeves
in
The
Lake
House,
a
movie
debuting
in
US
theatres
on
Friday.
The
film
weaves
a
supernatural
tale
of
two
people
who
fall
in
love
even
though
they
are
living
in
different
years
-
one
in
2004
and
the
other
in
2006.
How
do
audiences
get
their
heads
around
that?
''You
don't,''
said
Bullock.
''Once
you
start
over-thinking
it,
you
get
into
trouble.''
The
premise
for
Lake
House
is,
of
course,
not
the
wildest
idea
for
a
Hollywood
pairing.
After
all,
this
is
the
town
that
in
real
life
gave
the
world
Roseanne
Barr
and
Tom
Arnold,
Michael
Jackson
and
Lisa
Marie
Presley,
Renee
Zellweger
and
Kenny
Chesney.
The
movies,
of
course,
have
stretched
peoples'
romantic
imaginations
for
years.
There
was
1948's
Portrait
of
Jennie
in
which
Joseph
Cotten
finds
his
muse
in
a
young
ghost
played
by
Jennifer
Jones.
In
1990's
Ghost,
Demi
Moore's
character
rediscovers
romance
with
her
husband
after
he
dies
and
becomes
a
ghost.
So,
the
fact
that
Dr
Kate
Forster
(Bullock),
living
a
lonely
life
in
2006,
would
fall
in
love
with
frustrated
architect
Alex
Wyler
(Reeves)
in
2004,
doesn't
seem
beyond
the
bounds
of
plausibility
for
the
movies.
The
fact
they
communicate
in
letters
placed
in
the
rusted
mailbox
of
an
old
lake
house
seems
almost,
well,
commonplace
by
Hollywood
standards
even
in
the
current
age
of
e-mail
and
Internet
dating.
In
fact,
the
pair
agreed
that
the
old
notion
of
handwritten
notes
passed
between
potential
lovers
seemed
more
deeply
romantic
and
personally
thoughtful
than
digital
words
read
off
a
computer
screen.
''There's
just
a
different
kind
of
intention
when
you
write
letters,''
Reeves
said.
Bullock
and
Reeves
rose
to
big-time
stardom
together
in
1994
action
flick
Speed,
in
which
she
played
an
everyday
gal
who
ended
up
driving
a
bus
that
is
wired
to
explode
if
its
speed
dropped
below
50
mph
Reeves
is
the
cop
who
saves
her.
Onscreen,
the
pair
had
chemistry,
and
the
movie
was
a
huge
hit,
raking
in
350
million
dollars
at
worldwide
box
offices.
Their
appeal
together
helps
make
their
supernatural
love
affair
in
Lake
House
seem
all
the
more
genuine.
''I
think
it
helps
that
we
like
each
other,''
Reeves
said
of
the
pair's
ease
at
working
together.
''It's
like
(instant
coffee),''
added
Bullock.
''You
just
add
a
little
water,
and
there
you
go.''
At
a
gathering
to
promote
the
film,
the
pair
told
reporters
that
they
have
stayed
friends
ever
since
Speed.
In
1997,
Bullock
ventured
into
making
Speed
2:
Cruise
Control,
in
which
the
same
premise-good-looking
tough
guy
saves
damsel
in
distress
--
was
transferred
to
a
cruise
ship
on
the
open
sea.
Reeves
decided
against
the
sequel,
and
Jason
Patric
became
Bullock's
romantic
interest
in
that
film.
Speed
2
bombed
with
critics
and
at
US
box
offices,
with
about
48
million
dollars.
Overseas,
it
picked
up
another
116
million
dollars
which
helped
lessen
the
blow.
''He
was
smart,''
Bullock
said
of
Reeves'
decision
to
pass.
''Speed
on
a
boat
going
10
knots
that
looks
like
it's
standing
still?''
She
looked
at
Reeves:
''You
never
called
to
say,
'Don't
do
it.'''
He
smiled
but
remained
tight-lipped.
But
later,
when
asked
whether
he
might
reprise
his
role
as
a
crime
fighter
who
has
been
to
hell
and
back
in
2005
science
fiction
thriller
''Constantine,''
which
bombed
at
box
offices,
Bullock
had
this
friendly
advice:
''Don't.''
At
that,
Reeves'
tight
lips
cracked
into
a
smile.
The
two,
of
course,
went
their
separate
ways
after
Speed.
Reeves
remains
single
and
quiet
about
his
private
life.
Bullock
married
mechanic
Jesse
James.
She
is
a
Hollywood
star
who
has
appeared
on
People
magazine's
list
of
the
world's
most
beautiful
people.
He
is
a
tattooed
muscleman
and
one-time
bodyguard
turned
customiser
of
high-end
motorcycles
and
cars.
Real
life?
Sometimes
it's
stranger
than
Hollywood
fiction.