Movie Notes: He’s Just Not That Into You
= 2 stars
Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long
Directed by Ken Kwapis
Synopsis
Several couples in various states of commitment and lack thereof, search for love with mixed results. Based on a bestselling book.
The Good
- In true soap opera fashion, several couples’ relationships overlap in amusing ways: connected through roommates, co-workers, friends, or clients.
- Connelly is the best of the bunch, playing somber, uptight housewife Janine, whose husband Ben’s (Bradley Cooper) hidden habit of smoking becomes symbolic of their entire marriage — he’s attracted to the mesmerizing, voluptuous, commitment-phobic Anna Marks (Scarlet Johansson). This trio could have been the entire flick, with all other characters banished to The Jane Austen Book Club.
The Bad
- All the other high-profile actors (Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston) have relatively small and inconsequential roles — Aniston in particular sleepwalks through this one.
- Inconsistent tone: starts out darkly comic, laying out blunt “rules” that men and women follow: guys behave exactly as they feel, while women dream up fantastical explanations for their mysterious behavior. The true explanation for why men don’t call: they’re not interested. But the film drifts toward the standard romantic comedy, happy ending, feeling rather forced and disingenuous.
- Justin Long, AKA the “Mac Guy” plays a know-it-all bartender — I kept expecting John Hodgman to appear, with conflicting advice. But another flaw is zero chemistry between Long’s know-it-all and a clingy, needy woman who keeps pestering him for information.
Conclusion
Sort of worth watching for Connelly — but at film’s end, I turned to my wife (romantic comedy lover who inexplicably, recently watched The Ugly Truth three times) — who gave it the thumbs down. I can therefore say with confidence to avoid this one.
IMDB: He’s Just Not That Into You
Wikipedia: He’s Just Not That Into You
Rotten Tomatoes: He’s Just Not That Into You 44%