Spring Break
Sort of into 'He's Just Not That Into You'
With a fairly in-depth plotline and a large group of A-list actors, "He's Just Not That Into You" just runs out of time.
By: Stephanie Rancier
Issue date: 2/17/09 Section: Features
| |
| |
|
Do you A - tell your friend the guy most likely has no interest in her; or B - make up a ridiculous story involving an injury that would make dialing her number physically impossible. "He's Just Not That Into You" deals with this and many other dating dilemmas from both sides of the gender spectrum.
Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) has been brainwashed since she was a little girl on a playground with the idea that being treated badly by a guy means he really likes her. Unfortunately, that tidbit of misinformation turned Gigi into the epitome of desperation and cluelessness.
To make matters worse, Gigi's two friends, Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Janine (Jennifer Connelly) encourage her distorted expectations by reassuring her that, in every situation, Gigi is right and every guy is wrong. During one of her stalking expeditions, in which she "accidentally" bumps into whichever date has yet to call her, Gigi meets a man who is about to change her life with one simple phrase.
Alex (Justin Long) owns a restaurant in Chicago, where he sees Gigi waiting at the bar. After some light conversation, in which Gigi tells Alex she's waiting for a date, Alex realizes the date she's "waiting for" is his friend Connor (Kevin Connolly), whom Alex knows is not coming to the bar.
After the embarrassing truth is revealed, Gigi begins to pick Alex's brain about the rules of dating from a man's perspective. Alex tells Gigi that if a guy likes her, he will make a point to see or call her, which, according to Alex, is a generalization with very few exceptions. Alex candidly declares that Gigi, like most women, is the rule, not the exception.
The most obvious problem in "He's Just Not That Into You" is the insanely crowded cast with never-ending appearances from A-list actors. Most films have only two stars who receive at least seven figures for every film, so imagining the budget for a film with more than eight big-name stars is mind-boggling. The next problem stems from the first - how is a 129-minute romantic comedy supposed to allow for enough screen time to develop eight main characters while smoothing out a complicated story and connecting those characters in one complete story? To be as blunt as the title, it doesn't at all.
The main story line, though not horribly obvious, is about Goodwin's character as she desperately looks for love in all the wrong places. The main story consists of at least five other interesting sub-plots, which makes remembering who's who and how all the characters are connected rather difficult. Despite the ongoing problems with a jam-packed plot and celebrity-filled cast, the movie is very entertaining.
The film version of the bluntly titled self-help book is definitely not lacking in problems - "He's Just Not That Into You" is like that weird soup your mom made while cleaning out the refrigerator; it's not bad, there are just too many ingredients, which makes defining it almost impossible.
Goodwin and Long's characters make for a fun, light-hearted comedy, which is interrupted by a heavy dose of pathos in Connelly's character. Connelly seems to be in a different movie with her dramatic acting skills being put to an awkward use in a genre that firmly believes in happily ever afters.
The overall film is definitely in the same realm of the 'chick flick' genre, but not quite. The first half is budding on insulting to women by seeming to claim that all women are ditzy, man-crazed idiots who will stop at nothing to find a relationship. As the film begins to show the desperate and silly side of men, the insulting stereotypes begin to make a little more sense as comedic tools. "He's Just Not That Into You" may not win any awards for narrative consciousness, but it offers plenty of laughs and insight, both upbeat and dark, for both sexes.
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
By submitting a comment, you agree to thebatt.com's Terms of Use.
You may also send a Mail Call to The Battalion at mailcall@thebatt.com