I wrote a review of this movie for The Roanoke Times. You can read it here if you care.
A movie like “He’s Just Not That Into You” is destined to turn out one of two ways – as a total flop or a pretty decent flick. And this one turned out to be a pretty decent flick, owing much to its all-star cast.
Touted on the official Web site as an anti-romantic comedy, “He’s Just Not That Into You” is based on the book that was inspired by an infamous episode of “Sex and the City” where Carrie’s boyfriend Jack Berger tells Miranda that a guy she’s obsessing over is just not that into her. It was a brilliant episode. I’m not sure about the book because honestly I haven’t read it.
The film weaves its way through the lives of a group of twenty- and thirtysomethings in Baltimore, who are all connected in some way.
First we meet Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), the girl who overanalyzes every sentence out of a guy’s mouth (“Wait, does that mean you’re going to call me? Or am I supposed to call you?”) and sits by the phone waiting for the call that never comes. Every girl has a friend like Gigi (and if you don’t, then maybe you ARE the friend like Gigi). The men in Gigi’s life lose interest in her in record time, including Conor (Kevin Connolly), who will never call Gigi because he’s too hung up on yoga-instructor Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna, who is forever stringing Conor along, is totally into Ben (Bradley Cooper), who is married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly).
Justin Long is Alex, the movie’s straight-shooting guru on guy code. Alex is the Berger of the movie. He is forever delivering the blows (“If a guy is treating you like he doesn’t give a s***, he genuinely doesn’t give a s***”) to let-down ladies. Gigi becomes the yin to Alex’s yang when she starts calling him for advice on the guys she meets.
Drew Barrymore plays Mary (and also doubles as the narrator), a lonely heart trying to navigate her way through this new age of dating – via text messaging, Myspace and video chats. And, finally, Neil (Ben Affleck) and Beth (Jennifer Aniston), who have been together for seven years but still haven’t tied the knot.
Whew! That’s a lot of people and a lot of plots. But it must be said here that director Ken Kwapis (“License to Wed”) does a decent job keeping us on track given the number of relationships we have to follow. It helps that each segment is given a chapter title.
“HJNTIY” starts out more as a “For Dummies” guide to understanding the mixed signals that men give to women, but evolves into something a little different as it plays out … something a little more like life. I feared the movie would make women look weak and stupid, but aside from some of Gigi’s obsessive antics, it didn’t go that route. Both sets of genders are equally stumped when it comes to the rules of love.
The movie jumps back and forth between light-hearted and serious tones. Alex’s constant cracking of the guy code gets a little tired, although now we know all your secrets, fellas. Gigi is over the top at times. Ben’s infidelity is the heavy plot line here, leaving nothing but smashed-up hearts in its wake. Beth and Neil are a realistic pair and played solid, if not genuine, by Aniston and Affleck. Mary is a little boring. Barrymore’s charm is definitely under utilized in this movie.
And, while it is not supposed to be a typical romantic comedy (there’s even a video on the Web site of the 10 chick flick cliches that you will NOT see in the movie), I still don’t think guys will be flocking to this one.
As the movie plays out, all the guidebook-speak seems to fade into the background and life begins to dictate our characters’ actions … much like reality. The lesson here is that women will forever overanalyze, men will be men and there are no rules when it comes to love.
Chick-flick cliche? Totally.
