That sound you may hear coming from the theater is not a bounce. Actually, it's the sound of an initially promising movie that's in free fall and is about to hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Of course, it could also be the sound made by the declining careers of once-hot stars Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, who continue their cinematic slide with the contrived drama "Bounce."

With the many talented people involved here, this film could be — correction: should be — better than it is. Instead, it simply seems content with the on-again, off-again celebrity lovers together for more time than they shared in "Shakespeare in Love."

But the material is too flimsy to support them and should probably have been saved for one of those films made for the Lifetime cable television network.

Here's the premise: Hotshot ad exec Buddy Amaral (Affleck) has just wrapped up a big deal in Chicago and is getting ready to fly home to Los Angeles. The weather's bad, so Buddy feels fortunate to catch the last flight out of town.

But he's gotten a better offer from a beautiful acquaintance (Natasha Henstridge) who wants him to stay over. So, he graciously gives his ticket to Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn), a husband and father of two who's eager to get home.

All's well, right? Wrong.

The plane crashes in Kansas, and Buddy suddenly finds himself wracked with guilt, believing that he was supposed to be on the ill-fated passenger flight, and he goes on a one-year bender.

After sobering up, he tries to make some sort of amends with Greg's wife, Abby (Paltrow). But he's unable to tell her the full story, and, to his own surprise, finds himself drawn to the kindhearted widow and her children — all the while realizing that the truth could destroy their blossoming relationship.

It's hard to believe this creampuff of a movie came from writer/director Don Roos, whose first film was the deliciously cynical comedy "The Opposite of Sex." But this eagerly awaited follow-up is surprisingly toothless, and its final third is so ridiculously hokey that it's hard to take seriously. (Not to give too much away, but the story does take a somewhat unexpected turn, culminating in a courtroom scene that's almost hilariously bad.)

You really can't blame Affleck and Paltrow for the movie's myriad problems, though. The two manage to translate their former off-screen chemistry into on-screen sparks at the very least.

And while Affleck's apparent bid for sincerity is somewhat unconvincing (as the "reformed" Buddy, he still comes off as something of a cad), Paltrow's warm, understated turn as Abby is the film's one saving grace.

"Bounce" is rated PG-13 for scattered profanity (including one utterance of the so-called "R-rated" curse word), a fairly discreet sex scene, some vulgar humor and a brief scene of animal violence. Running time: 105 minutes.

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