Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Justin Long
It had been a few weeks since I been to the movie theatre. As I was getting ready, I realized I had a bit of the butterflies in my stomach. What would the crowds be like? Would the smell of popcorn seduce me and my wallet again? And then it hit me: I was nervous and excited about going to the movies. I suppose it was only fitting that the movie I was seeing was about women obsessing over their dating life. I had always been more interested I the movie I was seeing on a date than the actual guy that was taking me there. Consider the fact that at a baby shower the other day I joked that every woman in the office would be squealing and talking in a voice 2 octaves higher than normal. Shaking my head, I then turned around, looked out the window and saw a new “Watchmen” poster, squealed, and began talking 2 octaves higher. I’m not a normal chick I guess.
Still, I’m a female and neurotic enough to be interested in what the movie had to say (though not quite enough to peruse the book). I had heard the general notions the book had to offer and found most of them to be common sense. After watching the movie, I still feel the same way. Men are simple creatures; they aren’t the DaVinci Code. If a guy likes you, he won’t keep it a secret. It is simply too exhausting to do that.
The best thing the movie has going for it is the cast. The material is not all bad, but there is not anything magical about the script either. It is the cast that makes the movie appealing, and for a couple hours, it held my interest. There are a lot of characters (probably too many), but there is not too much lag time among the stories. The story with the most obvious yet oddly satisfying telling is the budding friendship between Justin Long (Alex) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Gigi). As a huge fan of “Ed,” these two will always kind of be Warren “Chez-cat” Cheswick and Diane Snyder to me. Here they play almost the exact opposite of their old TV counterparts. Though the personalities may have changed, the ease that the two have with each other as actors remains.
The rest of the cast are equally enjoyable, although some seemed a bit wasted. I happen to like Drew Barrymore, but she did not have much to do in this movie. Her character was sweet, but barely visible here. In fact, a lot of the cast seemed to feel like really extravagant stand ins. Only Alex and Gigi seemed to have much to do on screen. As beautiful as Scarlett Johansson is, the script could have scaled back on her and Jennifer Connelly and pumped up one of the other storylines a little more.
As February date movies go, this is not so bad. It works better as a female group single’s awareness day outing, but there is a little bit for guys to enjoy too. My recommendation for the males with dates is to make a deal to see this one in exchange for her promise to see one of your choice later. For men without dates that are interested in this, I suppose there are a few nuggets of information for you about the female psyche. However, there is no book, diagram, or February movie that is going to help you understand female neuroses. But you can certainly spend a couple hours laughing at its lunacy and looking at the pretty ladies. Just as the ladies can laugh about the horrible truths in this movie. It is painful fun for moviegoers, but a decent time none the less. When it comes to dating, both genders are a bit stupid. Then again, that is half the fun.
Still, I’m a female and neurotic enough to be interested in what the movie had to say (though not quite enough to peruse the book). I had heard the general notions the book had to offer and found most of them to be common sense. After watching the movie, I still feel the same way. Men are simple creatures; they aren’t the DaVinci Code. If a guy likes you, he won’t keep it a secret. It is simply too exhausting to do that.
The best thing the movie has going for it is the cast. The material is not all bad, but there is not anything magical about the script either. It is the cast that makes the movie appealing, and for a couple hours, it held my interest. There are a lot of characters (probably too many), but there is not too much lag time among the stories. The story with the most obvious yet oddly satisfying telling is the budding friendship between Justin Long (Alex) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Gigi). As a huge fan of “Ed,” these two will always kind of be Warren “Chez-cat” Cheswick and Diane Snyder to me. Here they play almost the exact opposite of their old TV counterparts. Though the personalities may have changed, the ease that the two have with each other as actors remains.
The rest of the cast are equally enjoyable, although some seemed a bit wasted. I happen to like Drew Barrymore, but she did not have much to do in this movie. Her character was sweet, but barely visible here. In fact, a lot of the cast seemed to feel like really extravagant stand ins. Only Alex and Gigi seemed to have much to do on screen. As beautiful as Scarlett Johansson is, the script could have scaled back on her and Jennifer Connelly and pumped up one of the other storylines a little more.
As February date movies go, this is not so bad. It works better as a female group single’s awareness day outing, but there is a little bit for guys to enjoy too. My recommendation for the males with dates is to make a deal to see this one in exchange for her promise to see one of your choice later. For men without dates that are interested in this, I suppose there are a few nuggets of information for you about the female psyche. However, there is no book, diagram, or February movie that is going to help you understand female neuroses. But you can certainly spend a couple hours laughing at its lunacy and looking at the pretty ladies. Just as the ladies can laugh about the horrible truths in this movie. It is painful fun for moviegoers, but a decent time none the less. When it comes to dating, both genders are a bit stupid. Then again, that is half the fun.
*Fact only interesting to me about the movie: although the movie takes place in Baltimore, the opening scene takes place at the Handy Market in Burbank. I can say with certainty that I have never seen Scarlett Johansson buying BBQ there on Saturdays. She is missing out.
Good review.
I will probably wait until DVD to see it.
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I have both positive and negative opinion about "He's Just Not That Into You" .The selection of actors was good.But I felt as if the storyline was a bit complicated (and boring too).It seemed similar to watching FRIENDS.My average rating would be 6/10.I may suggest you to watch it, but you must not keep high expectations