Monday, February 9, 2009

He's Just Not Into You....Just not into it (Possible Spoilers?)

My girlfriend Alli dragged me to see He's Just Not That Into You on Sunday. I was nervous from the start because I'm not at all into chick flicks. But the previews looked kind of cute and I absolutely adore Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Connelly, and Drew Barrymore. Plus I've been surprised before by chick flicks that I didn't think I'd care for. For example I did enjoy the Sex and The City movie.

While there were a few moments that I enjoyed and laughed at because of the wit and truth, this movie definitely was not something that worked for me or I would recommend.

The major failure for me was Gennifer Goodwin's character Gigi. This woman is a desperate neurotic mess. She is so desperate to hook up with a man that she takes any politeness and kindness as a sign that the guy desires her and is interested. She stalks people, obsessively waits by the phone waiting for the guy to call, and comes across in every scene as unintelligent and desperate.

If this was someone I'd run into in real life, I'd run the other way. She would drive me insane with her lack of awareness and her desperateness for male attention. And if I was a guy I would give her a momentary glance because she's cute, and I'd run the second she tried to latch on to me. Unfortunately this psychotic desperate character is the center of the film.

I also absolutely despised Scarlett Johansson's character Anna. If you know Scarlett, you know she's stunningly beautiful and is pretty talented. But God, Anna is everything I hate in a woman. She happens to meet a nice guy in a grocery store. They talk and enjoy each other's company, but he then reveals that he is married. Several times he tries to draw a line and get her to back off. But she doesn't care, she likes him and pursues him. And of course, being as charming and sexy as she is, he really doesn't resist for long.

This movie really is a sad reflection on women in general. It portrays women as drama queens, stealers of other people's men, desperate for a relationship, and manipulators of men into marriages they don't really want. I know women like this exist. I don't want to waste two hours of my life watching characters that embody everything that gives women a bad name. I want intelligent women who have their own lives that I can root for!

Justin Long's character Alex was a bright spot in this film for me. I've always been a fan of this actor. I find him charming and believe he's a wonderful comedic actor. He has a great delivery. Alex truly is the voice of reason who cuts aways the lies and hidden meanings of what men say for Gigi. He also offers a straightforward honest critique of some of her behavior. And we get to see him grow during the course of a film to a real man who can care for someone else.

Drew Barrymore is adorable as always in this. She is one of the few characters who seems to have a marvelous combination of kindness, intelligence, and heart. Another plus is she one of the few female characters who doesn't have a moment of irrational hysteria. She has a lovely heart and you are glad to see this character win in the end.

So I would say if you want to see a good romantic comedy, don't see this movie. I would recommend something that is actually charming like The Wedding Singer.

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