He’s Just Not That Into You

Rated: PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language.
Release Date: 2009-02-06
Starring: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: www.hesjustnotthatintoyoumovie.com

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With an ensemble cast put together with the who’s who of the romantic comedy genre, and with the ‘Sex and the City’ scribes behind it, He’s Just Not That Into You positions itself as this year’s go to Valentine’s Day picture.  And while the film is predictably predictable, I must say that to its credit, it manages to keep the mawkish sentimentality to a minimum. 

Based on the book written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, the film takes us into the lives of a group of interconnected, Baltimore-based twenty- and thirty-somethings as they navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex and hoping to eventually live out their fairy tale love stories. 

But much like Sex and the City, the film blatantly romanticizes the lives of white young urban professionals.  Lives that at this point are cliched and generic.  It seems as though everyone in the film is well off financially and living in a fabulous duplex built in the latest neighborhood to fall victim to the ‘gentrifying powers that be’.  Sadly, whenever the film does allude to the rest the people in this world, it does so by staging Latinos and Africans in offensively stereotypical situations.

The only air of authenticity the filmmakers manage to inject into the story comes from their decision to base the story in Baltimore, a city which certainly makes its case for future productions to consider its ‘Domino Sugar’ backdrop.

The actors, nevertheless, are likable (not to mention also incredibly good looking) and absolute pros at delivering one-liners which you shouldn’t ordinarily find funny.  The great thing about movies with parallel stories, such as this one, is that you’re less likely to leave the theater disappointed because you’re given a choice from several characters and situations to ‘fall in love with’.  A formula that also worked well with ‘Sex’.  Now, if we can only add a little color…