How Do You Know (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
'How Do You Know' (written & directed by James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets) looks promising on paper; given the actors & creator. But when the script is as poor as it is, and when the able actors can't find a way to supersede the poorly constructed comedic/dramatic beats ... then you've got a big mess on your hands. 'HDYK' is mostly about a love triangle (with superfluous subplots abounding). The members of said triangle are Lisa (Reese Witherspoon), a 31 yr. old pro softball player who has not been asked back to the USA team; Matty (Owen Wilson), a cocksure star pitcher for the Washington Nationals; & George (Paul Rudd), a recently unemployed businessman who is going to be indicted.
Lisa isn't a lovey-lovey type of person; and is not sure if she'll ever 'feel' love. She basically thinks it's something made up from romance novels. Matty is open to love, but has no idea how to truly connect (accepting one-night stands as a great start to love, haha). And for George, he 'knows' what love is; and after having a random dinner date with Lisa, realizes that she could be the one for him right away. Sadly for him, Lisa doesn't have those reciprocal feelings & treats him as a really nice, cool 'friend'; that's just what she does. And the fact that Lisa happens to be starting a "relationship" with Matty causes further confusion for her. Which, if any of these 2 completely different guys, will Lisa fall for? Will she ever feel what true love is?
'HDYK' just has a plethora of problems. First & FOREMOST, it is painfully unfunny. There are moments early on that are obviously meant to be either laugh out loud humorous or nod-of-the-head witty that fall completely flat. It's almost embarrassing. The film gets better towards the end (in this aspect), but it's still pretty painful. Secondly, none of the characters are overly loveable; perhaps Paul Rudd's comes closest. And as far as the love triangle goes, the presence of Owen Wilson - in this type of film - does it no favors; and while Witherspoon & Rudd have chemistry (offering a handful of poignant scenes together) ... the framework of the plot keeps them apart for too long. Every time you think some momentum is going in their way, another middling subplot enters the picture to splice it all up.
One of those subplots? The federal indictment segment involving George & his tiresome father (Jack Nicholson). I just couldn't care less about the whole thing. There's another subplot involving George's pregnant assistant (Kathryn Hahn). The actress (and the role) is so unbelievably annoying that you almost feel like not watching the film anymore - just a turn off. It's easy to say 'well, shave off the ridiculous subplots & we'd have a better movie'. But then it would have only been an hour long! 'HDYK' is just too bloated & shapeless to make any kind of impact (at least, with me). As mentioned, the humor has no rhythm. And the movie comes across as a bunch of half-cooked scenes rather than a cohesive film.
All said & done, 'HDYK' just isn't as entertaining as it should be. The plot: contrived. The dialogue: weak. The characters are not as developed as they need to be. And the humor is almost non-existent. If it weren't for some choice scenes, the low-key charms of Paul Rudd, and to a much lesser extent Reese Witherspoon, this would have been pure torture to sit through. What a waste of talent. And it's $120 million budget? Indisputably ridiculous.
Lisa isn't a lovey-lovey type of person; and is not sure if she'll ever 'feel' love. She basically thinks it's something made up from romance novels. Matty is open to love, but has no idea how to truly connect (accepting one-night stands as a great start to love, haha). And for George, he 'knows' what love is; and after having a random dinner date with Lisa, realizes that she could be the one for him right away. Sadly for him, Lisa doesn't have those reciprocal feelings & treats him as a really nice, cool 'friend'; that's just what she does. And the fact that Lisa happens to be starting a "relationship" with Matty causes further confusion for her. Which, if any of these 2 completely different guys, will Lisa fall for? Will she ever feel what true love is?
'HDYK' just has a plethora of problems. First & FOREMOST, it is painfully unfunny. There are moments early on that are obviously meant to be either laugh out loud humorous or nod-of-the-head witty that fall completely flat. It's almost embarrassing. The film gets better towards the end (in this aspect), but it's still pretty painful. Secondly, none of the characters are overly loveable; perhaps Paul Rudd's comes closest. And as far as the love triangle goes, the presence of Owen Wilson - in this type of film - does it no favors; and while Witherspoon & Rudd have chemistry (offering a handful of poignant scenes together) ... the framework of the plot keeps them apart for too long. Every time you think some momentum is going in their way, another middling subplot enters the picture to splice it all up.
One of those subplots? The federal indictment segment involving George & his tiresome father (Jack Nicholson). I just couldn't care less about the whole thing. There's another subplot involving George's pregnant assistant (Kathryn Hahn). The actress (and the role) is so unbelievably annoying that you almost feel like not watching the film anymore - just a turn off. It's easy to say 'well, shave off the ridiculous subplots & we'd have a better movie'. But then it would have only been an hour long! 'HDYK' is just too bloated & shapeless to make any kind of impact (at least, with me). As mentioned, the humor has no rhythm. And the movie comes across as a bunch of half-cooked scenes rather than a cohesive film.
All said & done, 'HDYK' just isn't as entertaining as it should be. The plot: contrived. The dialogue: weak. The characters are not as developed as they need to be. And the humor is almost non-existent. If it weren't for some choice scenes, the low-key charms of Paul Rudd, and to a much lesser extent Reese Witherspoon, this would have been pure torture to sit through. What a waste of talent. And it's $120 million budget? Indisputably ridiculous.