He's Just Not That Into You: Light on the Charm, but It's There.

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He’s Just Not That Into You: Light on the Charm, but It’s There.

he_s_just_not_that “What? All I said was I thought Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a cool movie. What?”

Rating: 6 out of 10

There comes a time when the norm needs to be redefined, or in some rare cases, reaffirmed. This usually happens in areas where there are just too many signals, too many varied social customs to keep track of and no scene is more rampant for study and redefinition than the dating scene. While not being the most skilled movie to tackle the subject or the most flawed, it currently holds the title for being the most recent, which is why you get to read more about it right now.

He’s Just Not That Into You is romantic web spun around a modern day version of the group from St. Elmo’s Fire. One way or another all these people are connected to each other and at one single moment in time they are all experiencing a singular and unique version of love and relationships. From the tender awkwardness tickled by tiny sparks to the touching sorrow of bitter disappointment, all the heart strings are played. It is also another in the continuing trend of book adaptations from the “chick lit” market, following in the stylish, stiletto heels of The Devil Wears Prada, Sex and the City and the upcoming Confessions of a Shopaholic, proving that coveting the female moviegoer, over the commonly praised 18-24 year-old male market, can be an extremely profitable move.

This movie has a couple things working in its favor. First, their release date is near Valentine’s Day and makes for a perfect early date night with that certain someone. Second, it offers up an amazing ensemble of talented actors to portray this bevy of bumbling romantics. Yet, that last one also ends up being one of its biggest detractions. There are just too many story lines at work here and over half of them fall by the wayside before the credits roll. When trying to showcase each and every type of relationship problem, very few movies can give them all equal and effective share of the screen time (Love Actually, which is an immediate and highly superior comparison to this film, is nearly perfect, but still could’ve dropped one of its many tales.) As the pacing clumsily drives to the closing moments, only two of the couples were emotionally worth following anymore and everything else felt like a distraction from the meatier bits. I’m sure in the book there was more time to get involved with each and every relationship, but on screen it comes off as a bunch of separate movies trying to be told at the same time. The throughline just isn’t strong enough here.

Getting back to the impressive, yet excessive casting, the people who shined brighter than the combined spotlight of the group are Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck. Long and Goodwin take the prize as the most emotionally satisfying and most complete character arcs in the movie. Long once again proves that he is much more than a jokester and begins to show off as a leading man, even if it is inside of a crowded room such as this one. I’ve been impressed with his comedic timing and earnestness ever since Accepted (the ending speech is pretty close to brilliant) and I pray he keeps getting chances to hold the reins in the romantic comedy world. Goodwin, on the other hand, epitomizes the hope and trusting nature of all those standing outside the party waiting for someone to invite them in. She’s adorable in a way that goes completely unchallenged in this film and I have no doubt she will be capitalizing on that in the coming years. Aniston and Affleck, arguably two of the biggest names in this cast, pull off touching and poignant moments inside the most subtle and least flashy story arc in the piece. Aniston has had her share of hard knocks since leaving the TV mega-hit, Friends, and Affleck also shows up with some bruises on his resume, but they are incredibly well matched here and take their scenes far above the level of B-movie romanticism.

Falling to the sidelines in the overcrowded group are Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore and Kevin Connolly. All of the characters here gave little to nothing to root for and because of that gained no real closure at the end. Cooper, who feels he was bullied into his marriage and now finds himself tempted by the incredibly alluring Johansson, enters the film the nice guy in a tough situation, but as the minutes slide away, so does his righteousness and strength as a character. In turn with that, Johansson brings up a common social question about what happens when you fall for a married man, but loses her focus in the third act, but that gets nicely blamed on Kevin Connolly, who plays a friend, sometimes “more than friend”, who wants more from her. Although that is a commonly played and often shown arc for the romantic comedy, Connolly neglects to bring the charm needed to bring the audience behind him and ends up looking needy and addicted to attachment. Jennifer Connelly gets the joy of playing Cooper’s silently bullying wife, who jumps back and forth between teasingly imbalanced and bravely stoic. If we got to see one of those ideas progress into the other, instead of the frantic switching between the two, maybe she would have been in the former category of actors, but her character ends with the audience wondering whether she was righteous or just walked on. The only one to escape this particular state of character confusion is Barrymore, but she falls into the singular fate of being only present to act as social commentary on the dating scene as a whole. Her story is practically non-existent outside of being a cultural narrator and it gets tied up in the closing moments in such a trite fashion that begs the idea they just didn’t want to leave her alone when the credits rolled.

Multi-story movies are not easy by any means and few of them can really handle the pacing and balancing act required to emotionally satisfy each and every character (again, see Love Actually for an example of doing it right, or as close to right as it gets). This film would have come off much stronger if it only chose those story lines from the book that owned their romantic notions and fulfilled the complete journey. Sometimes, you just have to be cruel and chose one from the many and leave the others to rest between the paperback covers at the local book store.

Recommendation: It’s a date movie, that much is clear, but an afternoon matinee this weekend might be the way to save a couple bucks and not feel like you ended the night just thinking, “Well, that was just alright.” Find a theater where the arms raise up between the seats so at least you can make your moves, even if the people on screen aren’t.

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