He's Just Not That Into You

Title: He's Just Not That Into You
Directed by: Ken Kvapis
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck
Genres: Comedy, Adaptation
Running Time: 2 hour.9 minutes
Release Date: February 6th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13


Review: Oh my! I don't even know where to begin with this one...
Originally, there were two reasons that I wanted to see the year's first, big chick-flick;

1. The cast - It seems everyone is in this movie, and I was really curious to see what this group of people could come up with. Judging by their past work, it should be funny, cute, and maybe even great. And, since I don't watch a lot of chick-flicks I figured this one might be a good one for me, that I might actually enjoy.
   
2. The book - I've read it, and I honestly thought it would make a great adaptation to film.

Sounds like the recipe for the perfect chick-flick, right? Wrong. This film disguises itself as a chick-flick, but really, all it manages to do is portray women as completely ridiculous, clingy, delusional creatures. I sat through this [long] movie, in a theater packed with people, and every time I cringed with embarrassment for the behavior of these characters, [what seemed like] every other female in the room squealed with delight from completely recognizing themselves in those very same characters. I lost count of how many "OH MY GOD! That is SO me!"-s I heard exclaimed in there. I seriously do not know who the fuck these women are? But I guess that is a whole other post.
Secondly, with all the talk about "staying true to the book", they sure failed on that front. To appease the masses, they have attached a generic Hollywood "happy ending" to this film, that is just ridiculous in context. But I guess they did need to lie a bit to bend it to the target audiences' expectations. So, really, it ends up being just another RomCom, with a few funny lines about dating in the era of online profiles, instant message, and smart phones.
However, even though I would not straight-up recommend this film, I'm not saying don't see it. It all depends on what kind of chick you are; If you are on of those girly-girls that planned their wedding since the age of 3, who's been dissecting boy-relations with your girlfriends since kindergarten, and who after each new date spends hours waiting by the phone for him to call, you might like 'He's Just Not That In To You'. If you are not; prepare to spend 2 hours completely horrified and/or embarrassed.

Grade: 4.5