He's Just Not That Into You

He's Just Not That Into You-2009

He's Just Not That Into You shares more than a few similarities with the 2003 romantic comedy Love, Actually: a ensemble cast comprised of 20 or 30 somethings intersecting and dealing with their problems involving love and the different ways to deal with various aspects of love. Yet the main difference from Love, Actually is that that film almost dealt with a fantastical, fairytale-ish, and more-so, the beginnings of love. Yet He's Just Not That Into You deals with a more realistic view of relationships, where people sit at home, staring at the phone, pondering what could have been and why their lives are not more like the people in those types of movies. What it does bring is a group of unique characters in situations that are rarely seen, if not have ever been seen, in films, no matter how ridiculous they may be.

This ensemble film, based on the self-help book of the same name, can be linked to co-workers Beth, Gigi and Janine. Jennifer Aniston is Beth, who has lived with her boyfriend of seven years Neil (Ben Affleck). She desperately wants to be married, while Neil is completely against the idea of marriage. Janine (Jennifer Connelly), is more interested in decorating her new home then her husband Ben (Bradley Cooper of Wedding Crashers and "Alias"). Ben meets Anna (Scarlett Johansson), an aspiring musician, who Ben promises he will try to help with her career, while harboring feelings for her. Gigi, done wonderfully by Ginnifer Goodwin of HBO's "Big Love", is a neurotic mess who is never without a form of technology in which her potential beaus can reach her. After a date with Conor (Kevin Connolly of HBO's "Entourage"), who is preoccupied with Anna, Gigi attempts to find him when he does not call her back for a second date. While doing this, Conor's best friend Alex, played by Justin Long, becomes a sort of love doctor to her, explaining what she has done wrong in previous relationships and how to remedy this.

Since the three main protagonists are female, the film does skew a female perspective, more often than not, making the men look like the bad guys in almost every situation. This does make for a biased look at these relationship problems.

What makes the cast work is that mostly everyone involved are well-versed in both comedy and drama. But that does not make the film any more believable. Most character's stories wrap up in such a nice little package, which is disappointing due to the fresh plot points that the film delivers. Not only that, but with so many characters, some get lost in the crowd. For example, Drew Barrymore, who plays Mary, sporadically moves in and out of the story, with her seemingly only purpose to be to proclaim the problems with relationships in a digital age. Many characters do not seem as fleshed out as they could be had there have been less characters.

Director Ken Kwapis is a wiz when it comes to TV directing, with credits from such great shows as "The Office", "ER:, and "Freaks and Geeks", yet his films combine humor and sappiness with License to Wed and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It is a shame that the humor from his TV shows do not translate to this film. But his mockumentary experience with 'The Office" does pay off in some of the funniest sequences where different people are interviewed based on various relationship topics. He does make the city of Baltimore look gorgeous and the quirky soundtrack makes this a nice change from the New York City/KT Tunstall-packed rom-coms of late.

But what the film does give are some great performances that will introduce audiences to some fantastic actors who are not too well known. Ginnifer Goodwin balances between being needy and adorable. As the films narrator, we see the film through her eyes more than any one else. Being that she is sharing the screen with some A-list talent, Goodwin really holds her own along the Anistons and Afflecks. Bradley Cooper is also perfectly deceptive yet somehow kind of likable. Very soon, Cooper should be seen as one of Hollywood's top talents.

Considering the droll, predictable rom-coms that barrage the early half of each year, He's Just Not That Into You does bring some new blood to the genre. But falling victim to many of the cliches and stereotypes that can be seen in most similar films does make the second half of this film falter that may just leave many people not too into it.

Rating: B-

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