Older Reviews- He's Just Not That Into You

            He’s Just Not That Into You has all of the makings of a poignant social satire; however, too often it settles for being a standard romantic comedy.

            The movie seems bound for commercial success. The trailers featured the wittier aspects of the storyline and made it seem like a modern-day Woody Allen film. The star-studded cast is gigantic, lending itself more to the question, “Who isn’t in this movie?” than “Who is?” The movie seems refreshing and smart, offering romantic advice about situations that appear in real life but that more conventional romantic comedies have yet to touch upon- for instance, the difference between a text, a call, and a myspace message when it comes to pursuing relationships?

            Occasionally, the movie’s strengths do come through. Periodically, the film asks relationship-type questions (“What do you do if he’s cheating on you?”) and answers these questions through interview-style footage of people talking about their own romantic history, which is often more intriguing than that of the main characters (one woman launches into a tirade against caller ID, complaining that she should have the right to call a man every fifteen minutes until he picks up without seeming like a stalker). The clever merging of the subplots and characters gives a six degrees of separation feel that shows just how widespread this web of romantic deception is in our society. The movie is eye-candy to the point of diabetic coma (and more insecure viewers will wonder why these beautiful people are all having so much relationship trouble), and the footage is bright, cheery, and colorful with an upbeat but not overbearing soundtrack to back it up.

            The film’s failures, however, are in its inability to be as risky as it has the potential to be. The characters themselves are relatively conventional, and the actors portraying them just play to their types. Jennifer Aniston is in a seven-year relationship and is bitter about the lack of marriage. Scarlett Johanson is blowing off the guy who is completely in love with her for a married man, as the married man’s wife laments losing  her husband. Ginnifer Goodwin wants desperately to fall in love, but her clinginess too often shoves men away. The stories are standard- it’s the merging of them that gives this the potential to work. If the characters could be used as commentary rather than a cheap way of making ten romantic comedies for the price of one.

            The film could probably be about half an hour later. But what would the filmmakers cut? Could they get rid of Drew Barrymore’s character, who is fairly useless for the main plot but gives the most original amount of satirical commentary? What about Jennifer Aniston’s plotline? It isn’t essential, but it’s the one story with a relationship where both people are clearly in love with each other, rather than being fully one sided, and it does seem essential to show that angle as well as the others. Cut out the Scarlett Johanson/Bradley Cooper/Jennifer Connelly love triangle, and the film loses the sad reality of relationships that really do fail as a result of deception and betrayal, and lose Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long and you lose the two most likeable and interesting characters.

            That said, the film is entertaining and does get a decent number of laughs and appropriate reactions from the audience. It just seems like it could have gotten even more, had the filmmakers been willing to make it happen. 

Grade: B