Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"He's Just Not That Into You" - Your date-by-numbers guide!, 19 May 2009
Hey, you...stop sitting by the phone waiting for him to call...get up and go watch this movie!
I have to admit, I'm not much of a rom-com watcher. Unlike others of its ilk, though, this flick wisely admits that relationships aren't all rainbows and butterflies, but that they are complicated, confusing, messes that aren't necessarily all sorted out by the time the credits roll.
The premise is simple enough - the film claims:
"If a guy says he'll call and doesn't, he's not in the hospital with a broken number-dialing finger; he's just not that into you".
After a mediocre first date with pre-recession real estate agent Conor (Kevin Connolly), the film's main protagonist Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), over zealous for date success and naively optimistic as ever, is certain that she has found Mr. Right. But when he doesn't call, her friends (Jennifer Aniston as Beth and Jennifer Connelly as Janine) comfort her with assurances of his interest and case studies of how they knew someone who knew someone in the exact situation - and it worked out for them, of course!
Not that Beth or Janine are living it up in the mansion of romantic bliss, mind you. Aniston's character has been living with Neil (Ben Affleck) for seven years, and for five of the seven, she's been dying to know why he won't pop the question. Wholly against the institution of marriage, though, Neil says that he's totally committed to her and he doesn't need a piece of paper to prove...yadda, yadda, yadda.
Connelly's character Janine on the other hand is married. Happily? Not so much. Ben's (Bradley Cooper) baby blues are soon tempted toward blonder waters when he meets Anna (Scarlet Johansson) at a convenience store one fine evening; how convenient. Too bad he's married, he reasons.
Drew Barrymore easily plays Mary, Anna's friend. Her role is pretty forgettable; but then she did spend most of her time producing the movie.
Justin Long plays Alex, the woman conquering bar owner who decides to school Gigi in the thinking of men, no feelings spared.
For the most part the story lines are tied together in believable ways and it's interesting to watch just how they're all connected - kind of like 6 degrees of separation.
A tough pill to swallow:
Perhaps too realistic at times, "He's Just" exposes the well-intentioned way we women attempt to comfort our spurned friends - not with assurances that despite her many attractive qualities, the guy just isn't interested for one reason or another. Instead, we assure our friends that there is no way he could be uninterested.
Really ladies, if you suspect that your friend is dating a guy who can't see her true worth, before you swell her head with an idealized, irresistible image of herself, please take her to see this movie, and let her do some soul searching. The film will do all the talking for you without patronization.
Be warned:
It's hardly a date movie (unless you want to end the date by breaking up when the scales have dropped from your eyes and you realize that you're more "into" the relationship than your significant other).
Best performances from: Jennifer Connelly as Janine who is more obsessed with the idea that her husband is smoking behind her back than that he is having an affair. Ginnifer Goodwin too has earned her keep. Her embarrassing attempts at securing "the one" are so realistic you will likely find yourself reddening at the all too familiar lengths to which she goes.
Best line from the movie: Listen out for the line the guy uses who ends up with Gigi (won't say who ;-)), it could be the "You complete me" of the 21st century!
Disclaimer:
This film may cause some discomfort. Side effects are generally mild and may include feelings of embarrassment over previous postdate obsession/stalking.
4.5 stars.
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23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He's Just Not That Into You, 16 May 2009
This film is a cocktail of home truths, humourous anicdotes, and cold hard reality. The women in the film have their own complicated love lives, ranging from Gigi's (Ginnifer Goodwin) almost obsessive persuit of The One, and Janine's (Jennifer Connelly) stressing over her husbands lies, though she seems more concerned over his closet smoking habit than his closet mistress. Beth (Jennifer Aniston) is in a rutted relationship which isn't progressing in her preferred direction, and Mary's (Drew Barrymore) obsession with MySpace is putting her in touch with some very dodgy characters, alongside all the usual perils of online relationships. The last character is Anna (Scarlet Johansson) who is a step away from the other leading ladies in that her love triangle contains one too many men. She has a guy who loves her, but who she doesn't love, and a man who she loves, but who shouldn't love her. I'll leave it there!!
The tastefully cast and well known men Neil, Ben and Alex (Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper and Justin Long respectivly) are three of the four main men (the name and actor of the fourth me escapes me, sorry!). Each is coupled or involved with the above women at some point in the film, and again I won't say anything else for fear of ruining the plot.
The storyline of the film is quite 'Love Actually'-esque in that it uses lots of mini storys (some of which link up) to form the whole. The characters interweave and have small connections with each other which is quite intreaging. The situations that the women find themselves in (apart from Janine's) are often so close to home that you find yourself blushing with familiarity, or cringing at seeing a deja-vu scenario from the outside. A couple of times the 'Oh my cod, I've done that...' moment hit me, especially with Gigi, who analyses everything a guy does. But the fact that so many people can relate to moments in the film is probably key to his success.
'He's Just Not That Into You' made me laugh and cry in equal measures. There is enough sympathy generated for certain scenarios, like Beth's sister's husbands' slothen behaviour, to make them really realistic. Beth's desire to get married will also mirror for several women watching. The delicate in-and-outs of relationships are examined, and it is refreshing to see this from another perspective. In one sense this is a usual rom-com, in that the ending is mostly happy, but the route taken to get there is what makes the film different from others.
I thorooughly enjoyed this film, and its one of the best I've seen in a while. The performances of the actors/actresses were first rate, even Ben Affleck (often critisised for the quality of his performances) has pulled it out of the bag. Drew Barrymore's character had more of a back bench than the others, but she did it well. For me, Scarlet Johansson and Ginnifer Goodwin completely made the film.
The beauty with 'He's Just Not That Into You' is that we've either been through the situations or at least know someone who has, so it is incredibly easy to identify with. I recommend this film to everyone who likes their girly films to be thoughful without being complicated, and lovely without being cheesy. Top marks :-)
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Almost, 30 May 2009
Gigi is a likeable twenty something who since childhood has believed that any man who ignores her or treats her badly really secretly likes her. She has a raft of friends & acquaintances who are having their own problems & whose lives we briefly get to see.
The character of Gigi is rather sweet in a non-annoying kind of way & when she finally finds some, what seems, sound advice from a new found friend she begins to get her life together & show some wisdom in how she handles the rat-bags she meets on dates. At the same time work mate Jennifer Anniston lives in the shadow of her soon to be married sister & struggles with her relationship with commitment-phobe long term boyfriend Ben Affleck. Scarlett Johanssen tries her best to make off with Jennifer Connelleys husband, Drew Barrymore finds herself at the mercy of more rat-bag dates while helping an estate agent who pretends to be gay so as to get more clients but who really wants Scarlett Johanssen. Luiz Guzman pops up briefly as a builder & Kris Kristofferson makes an appearance as Jennifer Anistons dad.
Confused? Well that is really only just a part of what goes on & a selection of the huge array of characters who appear briefly & then disappear never to be seen again.
The odd thing is that this actually improves as it goes along because you give up on it being a rom-com,(it has very few genuinely funny scenes), and when you begin to take the characters more seriously & realize they aren't all likeable then this films serious side takes over & actually has something to say.
However it is, in the end, simply too flawed to make watching again worthwhile. The fact that you never really get to know any of the characters much and see too little of most of them & their stories would be bad enough but when you consider this runs very close to 2 hours long there really is no excuse. Too many actors phone in their performances & the tired use of 'real' people we've not seen before suddenly appearing & speaking to the camera documentary style to give us their angle on relationships is unfunny & unnecessary. Along with these flaws there really are just way too many sub-plots & threads running through the film for it ever to be able to do any of them justice.
I suppose a look at the amount of writers involved in this gives some indication of where the root of the problem may lie. Another indicator is really the directors lack of belief in his 2 main actors. Justin Long & Ginnifer Goodwin,(no, me neither), have a genuine spark between them & both give very watchable performances but are sorely underused. Also some effort on the part of the editor would not have gone amiss here either. It really is too long.
Picture quality is good if a little oversaturated, sound is clear enough, ( although it has to be said the soundtrack is allowed to intrude to the point of drowning out conversation & ruining any subtlety far too often),.
I guess in the end this is best summed up by the extras provided. None. A great sign of just how little anyone from the director to the actors & the studio thought of this whole project.
Rent but don't waste your money buying this.
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