I was so into this! (He's Just Not That Into You (DVD))

Member Name: mummy2harry

Product:	He's Just Not That Into You (DVD)
Date:	22/06/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Romantic, great cast, well thought out

Disadvantages: Not all that funny

Occasionally, there comes a film that has such a star-studded cast, you just know it's going to be good. "He's Just Not That Into You" was one such film. When the adverts for this came on the telly a few months ago, big names such as Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson immediately caught my attention and I knew it was going to be one I wanted to watch. I was surprised to find out it was actually based on a book by Liz Tuccillo and Greg Behrendt of the same name, but since I hadn't read the book, I wasn't too bothered as I had no expectations! Last night, myself and my other half settled down to watch it, and I hoped for a nice romantic film to enjoy.

This film follows the lives of 9 couples or singles in Baltimore. Some know each other, others create new relationships and others break up. Neil and Beth have been together 7 years but he doesn't want to tie the knot, even though he knows what it means to her. Ben and Janine's marriage is thrown into trouble when he meets Anna at the grocery store, who is still playing around with Conor's head. Gigi is the eternal single and desperate to meet a man - so desperate in fact she's taking advice from bar owner Alex. And Mary is fed up with the technology used for relationships these days - how many MySpace break-ups can a girl take? Watch and enjoy as the lives and loves of these Baltimore residents are unravelled and put under the microscope.

My other half wasn't too keen on watching this film because he had read a few negative reviews about it, but I wasn't bothered, instead choosing to form my own opinion about it as I very much liked many of its cast members. The idea of a film without a solid storyline and lots of characters was intriguing and I wanted to see how it was going to be pulled off. It is billed as a romantic comedy drama, and I think it definitely delivered on all of these aspects. There was plenty of romance, some comedy which made me laugh out loud in a few places, and some drama that really surprised me. This film doesn't shy away from the bad parts of relationships as well as the good, and for me that made it more enjoyable.

As there are so many actors in this, I can't possibly analyse each of their performances without boring you. Instead I'll tell you who I really liked in the film. Despite her being so famous, I've never seen Scarlett Johansson on screen before and I was really impressed with her. She really made me dislike Anna a lot, and her chemistry with Bradley Cooper was excellent - you could believe each of their scenes and were fab to watch. I also liked Ginnifer Goodwin's performance. Gigi is an eternal optimist about love and Goodwin embraced that fully, making her character fun, light and sweet - probably my favourite female in the whole film. I would have liked to have seen more of Affleck and Aniston who played couple Neil and Beth. I think their story was incredibly relevant in this day and age, and I feel they both did a great job with their roles, and I could sympathise with each of them about their relationship and taking it further.

The film flows very well, and despite the amount of characters is easy to watch and follow. There are several small videos separating stages of the film, much in the style of the beginning of Sex and the City episodes, and I wasn't too keen on these to be honest. However, I could why it was necessary as it helped introduce the next part of the film and move it along a bit. The film flitted between the different storylines fairly often, but I found this good and it kept it fresh and interesting as it was constantly moving and therefore keeping your attention at its peak. There were a few times that I wished a certain scene could have continued i.e. with Affleck and Aniston but overall I think it worked pretty well.

It aims to look at many aspects of relationships and human behaviour such as affairs, obsession, marriage, and divorce, and I think it covers all of these equally well. Some of the stories are shocking and not so nice, but others warm your heart and prove that love does overcome everything! The comedy wasn't overly prominent - there were a few laughs courtesy of Barrymore's scenes (and hilarious male co-stars!) and a couple of other characters, but it certainly wasn't as funny as I had expected. We both thoroughly enjoyed the film though, and it is a nice one to snuggle up to watch with the one you love. It can be quite cynical about men and love in parts, but its part of the fun and doesn't stop the overall hopeful tone, and importance of love throughout. At just over 2 hours long, its a good length film which kept my interest and the cast did a great job with a very enjoyable film. Recommended.

Main Cast:
Ginnifer Goodwin ... Gigi
Kevin Connolly ... Conor
Scarlett Johansson ... Anna
Bradley Cooper ... Ben
Justin Long ... Alex
Ben Affleck ... Neil
Jennifer Aniston ... Beth
Jennifer Connelly ... Janine
Busy Philipps ... Kelli Ann
Drew Barrymore ... Mary

Thank you for reading!

Summary: A sweet rom-com