Goodbye, Lover is a mess. But how long has it been since a mainstream movie asked these intriguing questions?

The story that frames these questions is a muddled blend of black comedy and film noir that is alternately entertaining and ludicrous. When she isn't selling real estate or listening to Awaken the Giant Within in her car, Sandra Dunmore (Patricia Arquette) is having sex with her brother-in-law (Don Johnson) and trying to convince him to murder her alcoholic husband (Dermot Mulroney). The script, credited to Ron Peer and Toy Story scribes Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, has lots of snappy banter, but the storyline is shaky and the "nothing as it appears" motif wears thin quickly. On the plus side, Arquette has her juiciest role to date, and Ellen DeGeneres is a riot as an acid-tongued detective. She considers the best part of her job the fact that she gets to shoot people. (R)

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