Sliding Doors

(Paramount)

Double the Paltrow isn't necessarily double the fun in writer/director Peter Howitt's debut. Ms. Gwyneth's Helen is a British PR exec who hustles to the subway after getting fired, only to have the train doors slam in her face. Could this split-second frustration change her life? Howitt tinkers with such questions of fate by forking his tale into parallel plots. Stranded Helen #1, a mousy brunette, ends up slinging hash while boyfriend (John Lynch) shags an old flame (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Meanwhile Helen #2 -- who makes the train -- goes blonde and is courted by a leprechaun of a lothario (John Hannah). Midway through, unfortunately, the whimsical premise derails into icky, "you-go-girl" montages and bathetic melodrama.