Starring Bette Midler, Dennis Farina, Paula Marshall and Danny Nucci Directed by Carl Reiner Rated PG-13, with profanity and humorously implied sexual activity Running time 105 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 8 out of 10

(April 4, 1997) -- After 14 years, Molly had gotten used to having divorced parents who hated each; as she put it, their enmity had "a nuclear capacity."

So imagine her shock when Mom and Dad (Bette Midler and Dennis Farina) rekindle That Old Feeling when they're thrown together at their daughter's wedding.

You'd think Molly would be happy, but she long ago had realized they were a volatile combination, and had fully accepted each parent's current second marriage.

The two middle-aged former spouses are shocked to be locked in an illicit embrace, rocking a car in the parking lot at their daughter's reception. But Molly knows that such an encounter will really rock the boat.

That's the screwball premise of the new Carl Reiner film, starring Bette Midler, who is in top form, and Dennis Farina, the veteran cop-and-crime character actor who displays a surprising flair for romantic comedy.

Set in the New York City of the 1990s, That Old Feeling is solidly in the tradition of the nutty Hollywood romantic comedies of the 1940s. And as much as I enjoyed what Reiner did with the material, I can only imagine what the venerated master of the form -- Preston Sturges -- would have done with it.

Midler plays Lilly, a popular movie star who is obsessed with maintaining her figure, and not just because she's on the screen. She has to look good so she can thumb her nose at her ex-husband's trophy wife, the surgically sculpted Rowena (Gail O'Grady).

Farina is Dan, a mystery novelist who seems to kill off a "fictional" actress in each of his books. And he has nothing but disdain for Lilly's second husband, a self-improvement writer and analyst (David Rasche) who incessantly spouts touchy-feely psychobabble.

And though Dan and Lilly have been divorced for 14 years, they can't be anywhere near each other without exploding into messy fights. Meanwhile, aggressive paparazzo Joey (Danny Nucci) is usually ready to jump out of the bushes with his camera, aiming to put Lilly on the cover of the tabloids.

The former husband and wife, their current spouses, the tabloid photographer, and the wary new bride and groom -- all are thrown together at the wedding.

It also doesn't help that Molly's intended, Keith (Jamie Denton). is the wealthy scion of a famous conservative political family, and is planning a run of his own for Congress. All he needs at his reception are throw-the-china fights and high-profile affairs.

Reiner, the 74-year-old veteran director of classic TV and several Steve Martin films, keeps all the balls in the air as he juggles the script's various romantic elements. And he gives Midler and Farina free rein to energize the material with flashy and funny performances.

After watching Midler strain at the bit to get her moments in last year's The First Wives Club, it's great to see the brassy comedienne go all out, and yet never lose sight of the film's romantic mood. She even performs a lovely ballad, Somewhere, Along the Way, during the reunion with her ex-husband. Farina, meanwhile, escapes his tough-guy typecasting, and is obviously relishing the change to play at flirtation and humor.

Paula Marshall and the other supporting players also are amusing and attractive, and the film's technical qualities are first rate, especially the appropriately romantic background score that includes songs by Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong.

With just a little more imagination and a more intense pace, That Old Feeling could have been truly special. As is, it's still a good bet. And good Bette.