He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Directed By: Ken Kwapis
Written By: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long
Rating: PG-13
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
This movie is an unusual case for several reasons. One: I have seen it before the most recent viewing (ask my pal Austin Funcheon about this one, too). Two: It's been a few weeks since my last viewing, instead of a few days. Three, I'm adding a new segment to TAR's posts in some of the movies that I've seen before. This is called "what can we learn from this movie"? and this movie is the perfect one to start with.
Anyway, this is the story of about 9 different people (I may or may not have just counted the names under "starring" to get that number) that are slightly entangled in one another's lives, whether they be blind dating, best friends, co-workers, or casual acquaintances. They are all exploring the relationships in their lives. This movie (again, ask Austin) makes me CRINGE for so many reasons, but there is a lot of truth to it.
The Story:
GiGi (Ginnifer Goodwin; TV's Once Upon A Time) is actively seeking her prince charming, most recently after a blind date with Conor (Kevin Connolly; TV's Entourage), who still can't stop thinking about Anna (Scarlett Johansson; The Avengers) who gets wrapped up in an affair with Ben (Bradley Cooper; The Hangover) who is married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly; A Beautiful Mind), who works with GiGi and Beth (Jennifer Aniston; Horrible Bosses), who is not married to but forever committed to Neil (Ben Affleck; Daredevil). GiGi ends up seeking advice from Conor's bartender friend, Alex (Justin Long; Accepted), who seems to be the only one in this story with any sense. That's why he got his own sentence.
The Tangent:
I know what you're thinking, and yes, this is insanity. It's just enough to keep the plotline's pulse up, as any one of these isolated stories would flatline, and yes you're also thinking:"This piece of devil worship is where they got all those ideas for those star studded movies with no plot like Valentin'es Day and New Year's Eve", and frankly, you're probably right. I know I only gave this movie three stars, but this is still a must watch, because....wait for it....
EVERYTHING SAID IN THIS MOVIE IS TRUE. UNABRIDGED, UNSATURATED, UN SOME OTHER FANCY WORD....TRUTH.
People cheat because they have doubts, they don't call because they're not interested, they get married because they love each other and they don't get married because they don't love each other. Every day another crazy girl is born because they are seeking the best in people, or trying to force finding their prince charming. I'll tell you. I've seen this movie before, but now that I'm watching from the outside (A relationship standpoint) it all seems a little....trivial.
The Review:
This is a good movie. The acting is pretty solid throughout, but nothing special. Standout performances are Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin. Though I'm not actually sure if G.G. (see what I did there?) is a talented actress or if she's just that crazy town banana pants. Either way, she pulled it off well.
As I mentioned earlier, the plot was held together through all of the intertwining story lines, though it worked well for the film. I've never read the book so I don't know how that all works together. The writing is clever and altogether it's a "fun little movie". I mean, you'll never get the full experience without Austin being there to pause it every so often to say "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!" ...but I digress.
The Segment You've All Been Waiting For: What We Can Learn From This Movie
I've been so psyched to write this section that it took me forever to get back here from Facebook and start again...wait....gotta like one more picture....
Okay. Now I'm ready. What can we learn from this movie? Besides the obvious, like "If a guy doesn't call you, he doesn't want to talk to you", or "he'll see you if he wants to see you". These lessons are spelled out pretty easily in the movie. I wanted to dig a little deeper.
In this movie, Alex tells GiGi that all of the stories you hear that contradict the rules I listed in quotations above are exceptions. They are the exception and you are the rule. This principle can be applied to a larger part of life. Like politics. Everyone on both political sides has sob stories that tug at the heartstrings for their argument. I won't give any examples so that I don't lose my heavily convicted right or left wing readers (all 3 of them)! But, next time you hear one think...what if that story is the exception....and not the rule?
Anyway, there's my deep "food for thought" moment of the day. I hope you enjoyed this post and I would really, REALLY appreciate your feedback. Even if you say "Hey Nick, your blog sucks, please stop wasting your time" You'd actually be doing me a huge favor. I appreciate honesty. You can always click the little clicky buttons below and comment, or feel free to Facebook or tweet me as well! (@nickyahogan).
I love you all and truly value feedback of any kind!
God Bless!
NAH
The Archives Report
Anyway, this is the story of about 9 different people (I may or may not have just counted the names under "starring" to get that number) that are slightly entangled in one another's lives, whether they be blind dating, best friends, co-workers, or casual acquaintances. They are all exploring the relationships in their lives. This movie (again, ask Austin) makes me CRINGE for so many reasons, but there is a lot of truth to it.
The Story:
GiGi (Ginnifer Goodwin; TV's Once Upon A Time) is actively seeking her prince charming, most recently after a blind date with Conor (Kevin Connolly; TV's Entourage), who still can't stop thinking about Anna (Scarlett Johansson; The Avengers) who gets wrapped up in an affair with Ben (Bradley Cooper; The Hangover) who is married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly; A Beautiful Mind), who works with GiGi and Beth (Jennifer Aniston; Horrible Bosses), who is not married to but forever committed to Neil (Ben Affleck; Daredevil). GiGi ends up seeking advice from Conor's bartender friend, Alex (Justin Long; Accepted), who seems to be the only one in this story with any sense. That's why he got his own sentence.
The Tangent:
I know what you're thinking, and yes, this is insanity. It's just enough to keep the plotline's pulse up, as any one of these isolated stories would flatline, and yes you're also thinking:"This piece of devil worship is where they got all those ideas for those star studded movies with no plot like Valentin'es Day and New Year's Eve", and frankly, you're probably right. I know I only gave this movie three stars, but this is still a must watch, because....wait for it....
EVERYTHING SAID IN THIS MOVIE IS TRUE. UNABRIDGED, UNSATURATED, UN SOME OTHER FANCY WORD....TRUTH.
People cheat because they have doubts, they don't call because they're not interested, they get married because they love each other and they don't get married because they don't love each other. Every day another crazy girl is born because they are seeking the best in people, or trying to force finding their prince charming. I'll tell you. I've seen this movie before, but now that I'm watching from the outside (A relationship standpoint) it all seems a little....trivial.
The Review:
This is a good movie. The acting is pretty solid throughout, but nothing special. Standout performances are Justin Long and Ginnifer Goodwin. Though I'm not actually sure if G.G. (see what I did there?) is a talented actress or if she's just that crazy town banana pants. Either way, she pulled it off well.
As I mentioned earlier, the plot was held together through all of the intertwining story lines, though it worked well for the film. I've never read the book so I don't know how that all works together. The writing is clever and altogether it's a "fun little movie". I mean, you'll never get the full experience without Austin being there to pause it every so often to say "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!" ...but I digress.
The Segment You've All Been Waiting For: What We Can Learn From This Movie
I've been so psyched to write this section that it took me forever to get back here from Facebook and start again...wait....gotta like one more picture....
Okay. Now I'm ready. What can we learn from this movie? Besides the obvious, like "If a guy doesn't call you, he doesn't want to talk to you", or "he'll see you if he wants to see you". These lessons are spelled out pretty easily in the movie. I wanted to dig a little deeper.
In this movie, Alex tells GiGi that all of the stories you hear that contradict the rules I listed in quotations above are exceptions. They are the exception and you are the rule. This principle can be applied to a larger part of life. Like politics. Everyone on both political sides has sob stories that tug at the heartstrings for their argument. I won't give any examples so that I don't lose my heavily convicted right or left wing readers (all 3 of them)! But, next time you hear one think...what if that story is the exception....and not the rule?
Anyway, there's my deep "food for thought" moment of the day. I hope you enjoyed this post and I would really, REALLY appreciate your feedback. Even if you say "Hey Nick, your blog sucks, please stop wasting your time" You'd actually be doing me a huge favor. I appreciate honesty. You can always click the little clicky buttons below and comment, or feel free to Facebook or tweet me as well! (@nickyahogan).
I love you all and truly value feedback of any kind!
God Bless!
NAH
The Archives Report
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