Synopsis:
The
Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story
arcs deals with the challenges of reading or
misreading human behavior.
The Freak's
Rating: C+ : Studio heads have adored ensemble cast-laden
films since The Big Chill. They love the
idea that if you get enough talent attached to a
picture it can't fail at the box office.
Films of this ilk rarely fail at the
box office, more likely to suffer in quality
than their theatrical draw.
He's
Just Not That Into You is
Hollywood attempting to hit everyone in the
audience with something they can relate to.
In this example the subject of the film is love.
The writer attempts to put a situation nearly
everyone can relate to into the film by
intertwining as many scenarios that involve the
film's primary subject (love) as possible.
This isn't a bad methodology to script writing.
Some films have done it well (Big Chill, Love
Actually). However, balancing enough
strength into every story arc to make each
one effective is a difficult goal to achieve.
It
was nice to see the reunion of two cast mates
from one of my
favorite television shows of all time's (NBC's
Ed) in Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Sadly though,
the two are better playing friends as there
is little physical chemistry between them and
when forced it seems quite awkward.
Aniston and Affleck are wonderfully relatable
and do great jobs with their limited screen
time. They alone keep the movie in the C
category. The remainder of the cast
seems thrown together at random. Their
chemistry is rushed and the cast struggles to get their
personalities and feelings out in the limited
number of lines they have.
The
movie starts strong with a "meaning of life"
style narrative, making you believe the film
will answer some questions we all have about
love in an entertaining and fun way. There
is a quick dropoff once the filmmakers attempt
to integrate an interview style to certain
elements of the film. These moments all
fall incredibly flat as they are over scripted
and about as genuine as a child thanking his
mother for the socks on Christmas morning.
There are some nice lines and interesting
stories here, but nothing of substance.
With better pacing and more attention given to
each character, it would have a chance to be a
good film. As it stands, it rolls along
like a crash course in romance, pushing you too
many directions far too quickly.
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