He's Just Not That Into You Review
by Steve Rhodes (steve DOT rhodes AT internetreviews DOT com)February 6th, 2009
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
I'll say this much for HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU. While the movie is a comedic dud, it's at least good enough to engender lots of conversation afterwards about how it could and should have been so much better.
Director Ken Kwapis has trouble hitting an effective middle ground when it comes to comedy. His last film, LICENSE TO WED, starring Robin Williams and Mandy Moore, was a frantic flop with every joke being way over-the-top. In contrast, HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU takes a big bunch of A and B list stars and shows them sleepwalking through the entire production.
Only Ginnifer Goodwin (Margene from "Big Love") consistently shines. Stealing every scene she is in, Goodwin's performance and her endearing smile are the only possible reasons to see HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU. The rest of the cast of what feels like thousands, but is probably only tens, includes Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Drew Barrymore. None of the women, except for Goodwin, are the least bit memorable, but the men are especially bad, giving very generic readings of what is supposed to be acting.
The movie is a one-joke affair, based on a book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. The joke, with its many slight variations, revolves around when and under what circumstances someone should call another after or before a date. Of course, one variation on this theme is what it means if the other person doesn't call back. There isn't a single scene worth a big laugh, but, to be honest, you'll probably laugh a little every now and then.
What is infuriating about HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU is that so many of the problems are definitely fixable, especially given its strong cast. Let's start with the easiest. There is no reason, especially when your material is this thin, to bring the movie in at a running time of over two hours. Romantic comedies need to be breezy and crisp. Cutting a half hour out of HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU would easily make it much better and more focused.
Really good movies with well-written scripts can effectively utilize large casts. But, if you've only got one idea, you don't want to spread it around among too many characters, or none of them will be well developed. Of all the single and would-be single people in this narrative, almost none of them are more than one dimensional. This means that whenever they get themselves in trouble by cheating or by confessing their cheating, the audience just doesn't care.
John Bailey's cinematography does none of the actors any favors. With the film's lackluster colors and its unflattering lighting, the movie made you want to go home and watch just about any series on your HDTV so that the images won't appear so second rate.
Finally, if your director can't elicit some terrific performances with actors such as Johansson, Aniston, Connelly and Barrymore, it's time to replace him and get someone who can.
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU runs 2:09. It is rated PG-13 for "sexual content and brief strong language" and would be acceptable for kids around 10 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, February 5, 2009. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Cinemark theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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