He’s Just Not That Into You
I expected this movie to fairly superficial, both in its humor and its take on relationships. I also expected it to appeal mostly to single people. And thirdly, I expected it to be mildly entertaining. The first hour: I was right. The next hour, though, is a different story, one which the first hour does nothing to help, considering I found it bland, poorly written, and extremely…unfunny. As if on cue, though, the writers decided to show up for the Second Act, because the laughs became more frequent and the story’s characters far more believable, with lives and problems and uncertainty.
You’ve probably never heard of the director, Ken Kwapis, unless you pay attention to the credits to The Office (US), for which he directed 11 episodes, or Freaks and Geeks, or even The Bernie Mac Show. The guy knows humor. For some reason, though, that first sixty minutes was like watching grass grow or paint dry or Fidel Castro get out of bed. Mind-numbingly boring. With a cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Anniston, Justin Long, and Bradley Cooper, he doesn’t have a lot of excuses either. (And Ben Affleck’s in it, too.) The performances are mostly pretty good; Connelly (Janine) is great; and Ginnifer Goodwin (Gigi) was wonderful to watch, both charming and subtle.
The film follows the lives and relationships of a handful of people whose lives all weave together unknowingly, reminiscent of Woody Allen. Each character is in search of love, of romance, of the “spark,” but none of them seem to be able to find it. To make matters worse, they don’t know how. The movie follows them not only searching for love itself then, but also searching for how love is defined in a post-modern, tech-savvy world. Each of them seeks it in similar fashion, and most of them are rejected likewise.
What makes the movie worth watching is that it finds a way to explore the new truths of romance, which, of course, are the same truths they’ve always been, only they’ve been repackaged, and in some instances, are very difficult to distinguish as love at all. What allows one to keep watching the film is its ability to remind, to gently nudge, to cajole one into thinking that love may be something worth finding after all, no matter how difficult.
That’s the somewhat kitschy part. The other part is less sappy. The movie has a few surprises, where we learn that love may not find everyone; that what we think is love sometimes isn’t; and that love may take a very long time to find, if we ever find it. In other words, not surprises at all, but truths that we are afraid of, and for that reason this movie escapes a few cliches and Hugh Grant-isms that make most modern romantic comedies almost unbearable. Okay, fine, unbearable.
With its laughs and its emotional truths, the movie turns out to actually be pretty good. I didn’t love it. But I came away with a sense that I had witnessed an exploration, at least, of something we all wish to explore. The world of romance and love is difficult to navigate, and, though it is flawed, this movie (half of it, anyway) finds a way of portraying that, and of allowing us to enjoy the ride, too (okay, half of it).
Rating: 2.5/4 Stars
1. I liked this movie. It was cute and it made me feel good, and I normally enjoy romantic comedies, so no surprises there.
2. I read the book a few years back and it completely changed the way I thought about relationships. I think it should be required reading for every girl. So, even though the movie was decent, I cringe a little inside to think that now no one will be able to read or think of this book without thinking of Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck.
3. I was a little annoyed at the ending of the situation with GiGi and Justin Long’s character. It was cute, and I wanted them to get together, but the way it happened pretty much negated the entire point the movie was trying to make. The whole concept of the “he’s just not that into you” thing is that you can’t think of yourself as an exception to the rule, and then bam, she’s the exception, and they live happily ever after. What just happened?
4. I loved Drew Barrymore’s character a lot.