A new generation of actors is a glowing gift from Hollywood, and the bow on that package is Ben Affleck.

In his latest movie, “Forces of Nature,” Affleck teams up with one of the contents in that package, Sandra Bullock, to make a clever film mixing humor with major life dilemmas.

Affleck’s character, a conservative guy from New York named Ben Holmes, is heading south to get hitched with his fianc‚ Bridget (Maura Tierney).

On his way, Ben’s fear of flying is taken to the next level when his plane sucks a bird into the engine and has a little crash before it even takes off.

During the scuffle, a woman sitting next to Ben named Sarah (Sandra Bullock) is knocked on the head by his lap-top, which he was using to write his wedding vows.

After knocking her unconscious, Ben takes her under his wing and carries her to safety. She sees this as a life-saving act and becomes indebted to him.

Deciding not to fly, Ben and his new hip attachment embark on a journey together.

With things constantly going wrong, the trip takes way longer then expected and ends up bringing them closer together than either intended.

Sarah, a model liberal and wild-child, opens a whole new set of doors for Ben, causing him to start doubting his own engagement.

With her sexual nature and fun-loving personality, Sarah is everything that Bridget is not, and that makes Ben like her even more.

The couple’s great on-screen chemistry is brought out by their “opposites attract” relationship, which has them constantly arguing and at each other’s throats.

Their relationship also helps to bring humor to the movie. It’s not “roll out of your chair” humor, but it definitely keeps you smiling.

At one point, Ben and Sarah decide they need to make some money by entering a strip club. See if you can guess who did the stripping.

One of the funniest scenes takes place in a hotel room when Ben turns on the radio to help him sort through the question that plagues him: Sarah or Bridget?

What he gets is Stephen Stills singing “If you can’t be with the one you love, then love the one you’re with.”

Other scenes between the two bring out the talent that each possess as they get into their pasts and show different emotions.

Affleck’s ability to instantly make the audience like him helps make this movie that much better, and Bullock’s charm makes for the perfect match.

An unpredictable tear-jerker ending is a great way to close things out, leaving you feeling the confusion and emotion that Ben and company go through.

Some of the sub-plots involving Bridget and what she goes through while waiting for Ben to arrive fit very nicely and help further elevate the point of marriage being such a big deal.

Another guy who has had a life-long crush on Bridget is attempting to persuade her into his arms as she becomes more and more flustered at the absence of Ben.

Dealing with him, along with parents who have secretly separated, adds humor and emotion to the sub-plots.

Impressively, the scenes with Affleck and Bullock are not the only ones you look forward to seeing since Tierney does such a great job with her character.

“Forces of Nature” helps the audience to see what kind of questions one faces when approaching a wedding and the thoughts of spending the rest of your life with someone. Best of all, it is done with humor and real emotion — two key elements to a great picture.

If there is one thing to be learned from this movie, if you can’t be with the one you love, just wait until you see them next before you do any more loving.

4 stars out of five

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Kyle Moss is a freshman is journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.