In 2004, a phenomenon came out of nowhere and swept the entire nation.
Women everywhere dropped what they were doing for one sole purpose: to gather invaluable information about the opposite sex. For years, females have been getting together to discuss the strange mating habits of men, consoling each other with nonsensical explanations as to why he didn't call or why he cheated on you with your favorite cousin.
Then one man came along and revolutionized the way women looked at the male gender. His teachings were first seen on an episode of HBO's "Sex and the City," where Miranda receives the biggest wake-up call of her life when a stranger slips her some great advice. His name is Greg Behrendt, and he wrote the best-selling book He's Just Not That Into You: The No Excuses Truth to Understanding Men.
When a book becomes as popular as He's Just Not That Into You, spending months on top of the best-seller list, it's only natural that Hollywood springs for the rights to make the story into a feature film. The problem is Behrendt's book doesn't exactly contain a set script in its 176 pages. Instead, it contains a series of letters from real women asking Behrendt for his thoughts on the "mixed signals" men are sending them. The author follows each letter up with advice that swiftly dispels the confusion by offering six simple words: He's just not that into you.
Screenwriters Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein wove the different situations from these letters into the movie's plot, which follows the relationships (or lack thereof) of nine main characters. The film opens with Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) on a blind date with Conor (Kevin Connolly). Everything seems to be going well - until Conor gives Gigi the blow-off at the end of the date. Goodwin's character then goes through a series of pathetic moves that countless women have performed themselves in order to try and see him again. She calls him, cyber stalks him, and plans an "unplanned" run-in at his favorite bar.
At said bar, she meets Conor's friend Alex, played in the most charming way by Mac guy Justin Long. Alex finds out Gigi is trying to see his friend and thus embodies Behrendt when telling her "he's just not that into" her. He then goes through a series of situations with Gigi, enlightening her to the realization that the men she has obsessed over in the past didn't really care about her. Goodwin's storyline is the most endearing of the film, as the audience watches her make a fool out of herself time and time again. The women in the audience are able to laugh at Gigi, recognizing some part of themselves in her trials and tribulations.
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Gigi's sad love life is interconnected with the relationship troubles of the other main characters of the film, and Goodwin is just one part of an all-star cast that includes Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, and Scarlett Johansson. Aniston and Affleck play a couple that has been together for seven years, but Affleck refuses to marry her because he doesn't believe in marriage. Johansson is part of a love triangle with a married man (played to sleazy perfection by Bradley Cooper) and his wife (Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly). Johansson's portrayal of "the other woman" is spot on, and by the end of the movie, you find yourself rooting against her and Cooper's ultimate happiness because of their dirty deeds.
The execution of the situations set forth by Behrendt's book is well-done despite the challenges the book presented. The best film "He's Just Not That Into You" can be compared to is "Love, Actually." Both romantic comedies explore both the cheesy, sappy side of relationships as well as the realistic, painful side.
There was a collective sigh in the mostly female theater at the end of the movie, as women were simultaneously liberated and depressed by the fact that you can't change a man's mind if he doesn't like you.
The biggest problem the film faces is how to commit to the message of the book while simultaneously fulfilling the expectations of the rom-com genre. While the book tells women that men will not change, those who do the exception and not the rule, the audience knows that most of the characters' lives have to end happily. This dichotomy keeps the movie from sticking to its original purpose, but as far as chick flicks go, this one is a B.
