He's Just Not That Into You

He's Just Not That Into You is like P.T. Anderson for morons. An elaborate flowchart could be constructed to map the ways that each character is connected, since there seems to be a link between everyone in the film (she works with him, and he's married to that girl, and she is friends with so-and-so, etc.). Director Ken Kwapis (the unwatchable License to Wed and the awesome The Office) even--coincidentally--casts Anderson favorite Luis Guzman in a small role, which is undoubtedly the highlight of the film. But that's where the similarities end. Somehow HJNTIY isn't even an especially bad film, though it sure is a dumb one.

Based on a self-help book (which was based on an episode of Sex and the City), this romantic comedy boasts a ridiculous number of stars: Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long, Drew Barrymore, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, and, umm, Kris Kristofferson. Each of the major characters is experiencing a romantic crisis: one is tempted to cheat, another wants to marry her long-time boyfriend, while one girl (the adorable Goodwin) just wants to find the one, even if she has to resort to cringe-inducing tactics. Every situation is a cliche (though that does seem to be part of the point), and everything wraps up exactly how we might guess it will. There are some pleasant surprises in the dialogue, but the cast is far better than the material here. There were moments where I was watching Jennifer Connelly on screen, thinking, "This poor woman has won an Oscar."

Ultimately, HJNTIY offers no wisdom on the state of male and female relationships, which considering its source material seems at once incredibly ironic and entirely appropriate. It tries to say something transcendent about love, but it says nothing other than, "Women are stupid. Especially when it comes to relationships." Each of the women in the film as as though they're entirely brainless when there's a man involved. I'm not saying that it's entirely unrealistic, but my complaint is that there doesn't seem to be any alternative. There's not a woman who seems to keep her head here. The worst thing? Women in my theater were eating it all up like a post-break-up pint of Ben and Jerry's.