comment #1

George Prager says ...

The fact that she was alive to review the movie means that she never saw the pieces of garbage who wrote the original book interviewed on the Today show.

comment #2

actionman says ...

Looks painfully bad. Doesn't help that I have seen the TV ads, oh, about 10,000 times in the last few weeks. Not to mention seeing the full trailer every single fucking time I've gone to the theaters in the last month or so.

comment #3

erniesouchak says ...

The book was totally at odds with every myth perpetuated by romantic comedies, and that is, in part, why the film is an utterly confused disaster.

comment #4

Sabina E says ...

Ladies (and gentlement), may I be so bold to suggest: if he's just not that into you, then why don't you shut up, quit whining, and hang yourself already!!!!

There, that's it.

comment #5

TVMCCA says ...

George Prager wrote:
The fact that she was alive to review the movie means that she never saw the pieces of garbage who wrote the original book interviewed on the Today show.

If you happen to be changing channels and wind up on SoapNET, you'll love the commercials for his Wake-Up Call series. Truly unsettling.

comment #6

actionman says ...

Kwapis should stick to what he knows best -- directing episodes of The Office.

comment #7

Ryansi51 says ...

"get yourself some ribs and some ice cream because you have been dumped."

i have to say the only thing remotely funny about the tv spots are the two black chicks on the bench.

comment #8

corey3rd says ...

He's Just Not That Into You? - whose fault is it that you forgot to pack lube? do have to say we were joking about this title after a pal revealed that during sex - her boyfriend's foreskin ripped.

comment #9

tommysunshine says ...

For once I agree with DeafBrownTrashPunk. Why does Vilkomerson's opinion count for anything? As well as her Obserber gig, she reviews movies for that well-known rival to cahiers du cinema, OK Magazine!

comment #10

Jeffrey Wells says ...

You guys are sounding awfully mean. Too much spite and rage. Dial it back a bit.

comment #11

George Prager says ...

Christian Bale in HJNTIY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuGsAkOJpA

comment #12

PaulieBlartnuts says ...

Saw this movie at a screening. It's mind numbingly bad but not in a Blarty way. Blart knows it's a piece of shit, this movie actually thinks it has something insightful to say about relationships. It doesn't. All the women in the movie are portrayed as needy, neurotic or shrewish. And they only get their sense of self worth based on if they're dating and the guy they're dating.

comment #13

The Winchester says ...

"Actually, it made me not want to be a member of the human race."

That's how I felt after seeing the trailer for Bride Wars.

comment #14

slithis says ...

You're all being ridiculous. Have any of you seen the film? I have.

First, Vilkomerson's review is absurd. The film attempts to pain a realistic picture of relationship chaos and doesn't intend to "send you swooning home with thoughts of first kisses" -- it's more pragmatic in the bargains people have to make to be happy (including being alone, as one finds out). The "not wanting to be a woman; a member of the human race" is just the worst kind of insipid journalism that says more about the writer's self-satisfied need to be clever than the film itself. And people wonder why the profession continues to decline, as does the number of intelligent, fair-minded critics.

Anyway, the film begins as a standard chick-flick, though possibly an above average one, that is pretty insightful about the dating scene. It moves fast and intially feels like a situation comedy. It uses a "When Harry Met Sally" device of framing its narrative with women confessing their relationship troubles -- a tad shopworn, but amusing.

Then by the midpoint, it becomes pretty inspired at times and actually affecting in the hands of its actresses. It basically charts four women who have their notions of ideal relationships shattered. And it's not all fluffy, silly, sisterhood crap at all. It is very dark at times, it is sad and thoughtful. I didn't expect to like it, but I sure did.

A demanding wife (Connelly) thinks she can save a failing marriage to a cheating louse. An aspiring singer and sexpot (Johansson) assumes she can get a married guy to leave his wife for a fling. A jaded, long-time girlfriend (Aniston) has to decide between the desire for marriage and putting up with a commitment phobic who happens to really love her. And a perpetual dater (Goodwin) comes to terms with the fact that she turns guys off most of the time.

Sound like all fun and bubble gum to you? This is not a "girlpower" movie, really. It's pretty grown-up at times.

The cast is excellent all around, particuarly Connelly and Goodwin. There is a revelation scene in a Home Depot that is stinging and also unpredictable.

It is also over 2 hours, so it gives each character the full arc of their story thread -- and yes, that includes the guys: Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long -- for the most part, non-leading men, regular guy types. Even Affleck is low-key here.

It isn't a perfect movie -- it has some fey gay stereotypes and one predictable match by the end -- but it does connect emotionally is some very well-acted late scenes.

It also has a very endearing star turn -- rare these days -- from Ginnifer Goodwin, who carries the film. Whatever the X factor is, she has got it.

You're all just acting out here, typical stuff and not being objective. It's not a masterpiece, but it is a solid comedy with some pathos that is real.

And "PaulBlartnuts" -- you're giving misinformation. One character ends up alone, and a monologue at the end of the film suggests that one valid way to be happy.

Enough.

comment #15

erniesouchak says ...

I have seen it. A triumph of mediocrity.

comment #16

George Prager says ...

Slithis says:

"I didn't expect to like it, but I sure did. "

"unpredictable"

"all fun and bubble gum"

"Solid comedy with some pathos that is real"

Sign her up, she's got the makings of the next Shaun Edwards.

comment #17

slithis says ...

Slithis says:

"I didn't expect to like it, but I sure did. "

"unpredictable"

"all fun and bubble gum"

"Solid comedy with some pathos that is real"

Sign her up, she's got the makings of the next Shaun Edwards.

-----

Of course, nothing worthwhile to add, just snarky nonsense typical here.

comment #18

Gordon27 says ...

"Anyway, the film begins as a standard chick-flick, though possibly an above average one, that is pretty insightful about the dating scene."

So it's really typical, but also really above average? Great point you've made! Not confusing at all.

"It moves fast and intially feels like a situation comedy."

Oh-kay.... so, now, it's not so much that it feels like an above average movie as a standard TV show? Your praise is confusing.

"the guys: Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long -- for the most part, non-leading men, regular guy types."

You have a very warped sense of "regular guys"; they're only "non-leading men" because none of them can carry a movie.

"It is also over 2 hours"

That's a bad, bad sign. I can't think of a single romantic comedy that has ever earned the need to be more than 120 minutes.

"Of course, nothing worthwhile to add"

Being fair, slithis, you gave nothing but vague critic-speak. Nothing specific at all to work with.

comment #19

George Prager says ...

Slithis restaurant review:

The food wasn't terrible. I chewed it and swallowed and I didn't throw up. At the end of the meal I wasn't hungry anymore and I didn't have a stomachache. The next day I got up and took a solid bowel movement and I didn't have to wipe all that much!

comment #20

Movie fan09 says ...

Ryansi51 Author Profile Page says ...

"get yourself some ribs and some ice cream because you have been dumped."

i have to say the only thing remotely funny about the tv spots are the two black chicks on the bench.

That is the comedy group "Frangela."

comment #21

slithis says ...

"Being fair, slithis, you gave nothing but vague critic-speak. Nothing specific at all to work with."

Actually since the fanboy knives are out for this film, nothing I would say could make a difference. Though a 22-year-old press member who put The Dark Knight at the top of his best list last year, and sat next to me, liked it as much as I did.

And actually, I did give some specifics. What would you like? A dissection of the lighting, editing, sound design and overall mis-en-scene of a film by Ken Kwapis?

Keep in mind I never said it was a masterpiece, just well-acted and at times affecting. And that it certainily is. You can knee-jerk all day to the ad campaign, but the film itself works.

George, I'm glad to see you live to post here. You're amusing to about no one but yourself.

comment #22

Gordon27 says ...

"Actually since the fanboy knives are out for this film, nothing I would say could make a difference."

That's a fine copout, but the fact is, you mentioned every character and, rather than describe anything specific or unique or memorable that happens to them, you gave each one a quick one-sentence description that would've been equally at home in a press release or a shitty film review. Within two sentences, you had said the movie was an average chick flick, a pretty good romantic comedy, and/or a standard sitcom. Are you familiar with the phrase "damning with faint praise"?

"Though a 22-year-old press member who put The Dark Knight at the top of his best list last year, and sat next to me, liked it as much as I did. "

When you say things like that, it sounds as if you are (sorry to put it this way) a plant who's hear to stir up interest, but has no idea how to do it, so you just bring up other movies that some people like. "Hey, did you like Dark Knight? This guy I met did, and he liked this movie too!" You honestly don't sound like a real person who actually saw the movie, because you aren't talking about it like a real person who saw the movie; you're getting super-defensive, posting 23 paragraphs about a movie you claim not to care much about, and then immediately responding to anybody who says anything to you.

"And actually, I did give some specifics."

Yeah, the list of stuff George posted back to you derisively. You described each character's subplot in one sentence, and then pretended that each of those sentences was *not* a stupid cliche.

Specifics would be specific things that actual people -- not promoting a movie on a website for a studio -- talk about coming out of movies. I can't cite examples for this movie, having not seen it, but, for instance, if I were talking to a friend about 'Burn After Reading', I would say, "I know the ads aren't very good, but just wait until you see what Clooney is building." or "Brad Pitt takes the word 'shit' and makes it into poetry." Stuff which spoils nothing, but is specific, so that other people who have seen it can chime in with agreement.

"Keep in mind I never said it was a masterpiece, just well-acted and at times affecting."

You're right. And here I was accusing you of not being specific, and there you were saying how it was "well-acted". Not, of course, by anybody specific. Just in a general sort of way. And "affecting". No real mention of which times it was affecting, but, naturally, that would be too specific.

comment #23

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

LOL Prager. You're still a major douche, but regardless -- that restaurant review thing just about made me piss my pants. Good God, man.

comment #24

ScottMendelson says ...

Not sure why everyone is tearing Slithis apart here. Sounds like a lengthy, detailed explanation of what did and didn't work in the film. It makes me far more clear about whether I want to see the film than I was before I read it, which sounds like just what a good review is supposed to do.

comment #25

PaulieBlartnuts says ...

Slithis - The character you refer to -- Jennifer Connelly -- is so pathetic that even after she catches her husband cheating on her she decides the best way to win him back is to seduce him in his office. Then when she realizes he's still fucking around, she kicks him out. Boy is that empowering. I look forward to upcoming endorsement of ALL ABOUT STEVE...

comment #26

PaulieBlartnuts says ...

I know I omitted "your" in the last sentence. Fyi -- Ben Lyons laughs at you...

comment #27

ScottMendelson says ...

Why exactly does every female character in a film about women have to be empowering or utterly righteous? Can't they be just as flawed, wrongheaded, and doomed as male protagonists in most Oscar bait pictures? It's the same kind of dumb thinking that proclaims that every film about black people has to be noble and morally upstanding. Not every black-themed film has to be Rosewood... they are allowed to be Soul Plane too. Same goes for female-based films.

comment #28

Gordon27 says ...

Jack - I don't think the complaint is that the women are flawed, per se, so much as that their flaws are the same standard, tired flaws that women always have in romantic comedies.

A woman having an affair with a married man she thinks will leave her husband, a woman having to choose between love and wanting to get married, a woman having to figure out why she repulses men... that doesn't sound like the sort of unique, interesting flaws that permeate Oscar bait -- it sounds like the sort of trite flaws that get written into romantic comedies. The only difference is, instead of picking one from the column, they took "d - all of the above".

They're fine if they're just one aspect of the characters -- but, somehow, this doesn't seem like the kind of movie that has much time to get much in depth on any of the characters (especially if it's also spending time "developing" each of the male characters, so that they can be described in a full sentence, not just a word).

When you bring up 'Soul Plane', that's fine; I agree, movies are allowed to 'Soul Plane', but that doesn't make 'Soul Plane' good. It sounds as if you're saying that 'Soul Plane' should be given a pass for how awful it is simply because it's a "black movie". I think it should be held to the same standard as 'Meet the Spartans'. Bad is bad.

But if you meant "Not every black-themed film has to be Rosewood... they are allowed to be Pootie Tang too" then I'm totally with you.

comment #29

ZayTonday says ...

She didn't gather any of this before hand from the title being "He's Just Not That Into You"?