He's Just Not That Into You Review [2]

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 02.15.2009

It's the biggest collection of talent since Rat Race, but is it worth letting your woman drag you to see it?

Directed by Ken Kwapis
Written by Abby Kohn, Mark Silverstein based on the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
Cinematography by John Bailey
Music Score by Cliff Eidelman

Cast
Jennifer Anison ... Beth
Drew Barrymore ... Mary
Ben Affleck ... Neil
Ginnefer Goodwin ... Gigi
Jennifer Connelly ... Janine
Scarlett Johansson ... Anna
Justin Long ... Alex
Bradley Cooper ... Ben
Kevin Connolly ... Conor
Kris Kristofferson ... Rod



Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language.

Warning: He’s Just Not That Into You is not a movie made for men. The movie is based on a self-help book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo and the film simply explains that men and women just don’t understand each other.

Actually, it’s not that simple. This movie is a maze of characters and situations that will take a couple of paragraphs to work through. Take a deep breath.

The movie opens with a young boy hitting a little girl and telling her she is made of dog poo poo. The girl’s mother explains to her that when a boy says mean things to a girl, it means he likes her. Cut to present day and a world of women completely screwed up because they have no clue how to understand men. Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is the little girl, all grown up when the movie starts and she is on a date with Connor (Kevin Connolly). The date ends and, while Gigi believes it went well, Connor immediately calls Anna (Scarlett Johansson) attempting to set up a time to meet with her later. While Gigi stares at her phone for the next week waiting for it to ring, Connor is proving to be the male equivalent of Gigi, pining away for Anna who seems to be using him as a safety net when her own relationship aspirations crash around her.

While Connor is on the phone with Anna, she bumps into the ruggedly handsome Ben (Bradley Cooper) and immediately falls for him. Unfortuantely, he is married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly) and tells her so before giving her his card with the promise that he might be able to help with her singing career. We then see that Connor is friends with Neil (Ben Affleck), who has been with his girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Aniston) for seven years. Beth wants to get married but Neil doesn’t believe in the institution of marriage and refuses. Beth, Janine and Gigi are also co-workers and feed off each other’s insecurities and delusions to keep themselves living in their little world. To tie these stories together, Janine hooked up Gigi with Connor, who sold her and Ben their new house.

Gigi continues to stalk Connor, going so far as visiting a bar he frequents and while there, meets a friend of Connor’s named Alex (Justin Long). Alex is a lifesaver for Gigi as he explains to her what to look for when a guy is going to blow her off. He opens her eyes to the world of dating and helps her get a stronger grip on the real world. The final character is Mary (Drew Barrymore), who works for a magazine in ad sales and deals with Connor and his real estate ads. She also is friends with Connor’s on again/off again girlfriend Anna.

Ok, if that plot sounds convoluted that’s because it is. There is so much going on in this story, the reason being the filmmakers want you to see every possible situation. There is the couple who learns how to make their relationship work. There is the couple who is trying to make it work and fails. There is the person who finds it is better to be alone and the person who finds they are left alone. There is also the odd pairing and revelations of the jaded. Every possible resolution is presented in this two hour film and it proves to be a little much.

Here are the positive and negative additions to this movie.

The main character is Gigi and she is very hard to like. She comes across as desperate and lonely but at the same time creepy and stalker like. She is a scary character who is one break up away from Fatal Attraction. When you finally start to like her, and it takes a while for that to happen, she reverts to her creepy, desperate persona and you become embarrassed for her. When you stop rooting for the protagonist of the film and want to jump into the movie and slap the piss out of her, the movie has done something wrong. There is a line a film should not cross and when you find yourself no longer caring for your hero it has been crossed. It is obvious in a chick flick that the main girl needs to find closure and resolution in a positive light, so it should be no spoiler that Gigi’s story turns out well in the end. However, I wasn’t happy for her because I no longer cared for her and my sympathies had already moved on to other characters.

One of those characters is Alex. Justin Long has been one of my favorite character actors for a long time. When I see him as a lead in films such as this, it makes me a happy person. He does not disappoint here. He is a great young talent, with good delivery and facial expressions that allows you to see deeper into the character than the script allows. He is a great addition to the cast and delivers a wonderfully wry performance of a guy who not only knows how the male mind works, but implements it in his own life perfectly. His resolution is one of the two in the movie that really struck home for me. Unfortunately, the script almost destroyed the entire moment with a line of dialogue that can only be found in a chick flick. When Alex states “You are my exception” I threw up a little in my mouth.

The other relationship that worked for me was that of Beth and Neil. Beth is from a large family of sisters (at least three, as far as I could count). They are all married except for Beth and her younger sister, who herself is preparing for her wedding at this moment. Of course, when a single woman’s little sister is getting married, life becomes more distressing for her. She asks Neil if they are ever going to get married and he explains again that he does not believe in it. Thanks to her friends at work, specifically Gigi spouting the wisdom she has learned from Alex, Beth gives Neil an ultimatum. He will marry her or their relationship is finished. Next thing you know, Neil is living on his boat and the two are no longer together. The story takes a detour through Beth’s sister’s wedding (including a very funny cameo by Kris Kristofferson as her father).

This story is contrasted with Neil’s friend Ben. Ben and Neil seem to be the most stable men in the movie, completely dedicated to their women and loyal almost to a fault. Unfortunately, one of these men will fall, a heartbreaking moment for me. The relationship between Ben and Janine borders on ridiculous. Janine is almost too deep into the role of the stupid, naïve and confused woman. She is willing to work through an act of infidelity but is unforgiving if he lies to her about whether or not he has quit smoking (this is explained through the fact that Janine’s father died of lung cancer and she cannot stand to see her husband face the same fate). There is a confrontation in a Home Depot that made me shake my head in confused wonder at the absurdity of the situation. The true contrast of this relationship with that of Neil and Beth is that Janine gave Ben the same ultimatum Beth gave Neil and Ben gave in to the demands, marrying her to save their relationship. The script is clear which man’s choice was the wiser decision.

The worst character in the movie is Connor, the male equivalent of the females in the picture. When he actually dresses up to look gender confused to attract the homosexual community in an effort to increase real estate sales, it emphasized the fact he was as close to confused as any of the women. He clings to Anna, who uses him to rebound when her own relationships fail. Anna appears as needy as the other girls, believing that Ben would leave his wife for her because they were meant to be together, and his marriage was the mistake. It is backwards thinking and, because she is so stupid in this thought process, her character is expendable by the end of the film.

This movie is a labyrinth of disconnecting storylines that forces them to weave together at various points to keep the story moving. The stories all connect to each other on a visceral level as you see what would have and could have happened to each of the players played out in the other relationships. By the end of the movie it seems a little much, overkill. There are also moments where the story is interrupted by what I assume are passages from the book. These are interviews with various people trying to answer various questions and concerns brought up in the movie. They interrupt the flow of the film and make for a very disjointed experience.

The 411: He’s Just Not That Into Youis a very long movie that drags its points out and wants to be anything and everything all at once. For women, there is a lot to like about the movie because you get everything you have ever seen in a romantic comedy rolled into one giant epic picture. For guys, this might be a long, slightly eye rolling, excursion. Beware though, there are situations in this movie that might hit a little close to home. If you are unsure about your current relationship or are going through problems with your significant other, this movie might be one to avoid. For women, this is a great one for a girl’s night out. Just don’t drag your man, kicking and screaming, to see it. You will owe him big time.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]