He's Just Not That Into You, and She Probably Isn't Either

A few years back, Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo published He's Just Not That Into You to great acclaim. While it received its fair share of criticism, my best friend was a big fan of the book and thought it offered valuable advice, so she was looking forward to the movie. Though I hadn't read it, I thought the movie looked fun and was all for us seeing it opening weekend. It won't be nominated for any Oscars, but I found it a fairly entertaining romp through the maze of dating that many men and women navigate.

He's Just Not That Into You, directed by Ken Kwapis and adapted for the screen by Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein, takes a self-help book and turns it into a romantic comedy with an intersecting cast of characters. Most often, bartender Alex (Justin "I'm a Mac" Long) serves as the voice of the book, doling out practical advice to the clueless-in-love Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), who can't ever seem to secure a second date. That function is also occasionally fulfilled by various clusters of gay men, the implication being, I suppose, that they are able to be objective observers to these little dramas that play out over and over. It's only one of the movie's many stereotypes; given the thrust of the book, though, I can deal with that. Each of the characters is being used to illustrate a point.

Alex and Gigi are probably the most interesting, rounded characters, but the movie never keeps the focus on anyone for very long. There are too many different stories to explore. We meet Beth (Jennifer Aniston), who has lived with her boyfriend Neil (Ben Affleck) for seven years and is growing frustrated with his apparent lack of interest in marriage. Conor (Kevin Connolly), one of Gigi's failed dates, doesn't know where he stands with Anna (Scarlett Johansson), whose affection for him seems to have cooled considerably. Little does he know that she's in hot pursuit of Ben (Bradley Cooper), a man struggling to be a faithful husband to the steady Janine (Jennifer Connelly) in the face of temptation. Somewhat removed from all this is Mary (Drew Barrymore), who uses the Internet to connect to potential love interests, though she ties in nicely by the conclusion.

In addition to all of these main characters, there are several unnamed folks - mostly women - who give testimonials about their experiences in the romance department. These are among the funnier scenes in the movie, as is the opener, which uses a playground disappointment to set up a lifetime of unrealistic expectations. It all seems very cynical at first, but as the film draws to a close, there are indications that love may not be so out of reach for at least some of these people after all.

One scene in particular produced a prolonged "Awwwwwwwww" from the female portion of the audience, prompting one guy to shout out, "You girls are so sad!" That statement could sum up the sentiments of a good chunk of the movie, which shows women going far out of their way to rationalize a man giving them the cold shoulder. By the same token, the men are generally shown as insensitive and full of brush-off tactics. There's about as much coarse language as a PG-13 film will allow. Then there's the fact that one of the movie's "rules" is, "If she's not sleeping with you, she's just not that into you." While other rules are refuted to some degree, this one never is, and it's bothersome that among all of these characters, not one considers abstinence a viable option. The whole thing makes the dating game look pretty unappealing and seems to me to support the idea that, as I've always suspected, it's usually better to just let a relationship develop naturally out of an acquaintance or friendship instead of actively searching for Mr. or Ms Right, one bad date at a time.

Some may find He's Just Not That Into You more relevant than others. While I didn't see a lot there that applies to me, it seemed like a reasonably insightful peek into the potential pitfalls of dating. The humor and strong ensemble cast make this a movie worth checking out if romance has you a bit down this Valentine's Day.

Lord Almighty, Jim Carrey Plays God and Grace Overcomes Groans

At the beginning of this summer, after I graduated from college and was sitting around with nothing in particular to do, my mom suggested I go to a bunch of movies this summer on opening day and submit a review to the local newspaper. My first attempt was going to be Bruce Almighty, and I went and saw it on the first night. But somehow, I never got around to reviewing it. After a year straight of frantically writing for school, I just couldn’t get up the motivation to write anything, not even a movie review. I abandoned the plan then and there. So here I am reviewing the movie three months later. Better late than never, I guess!

I first heard of Bruce Almighty when I went to see Don McLean’s free concert in Buffalo last summer. One of the opening bands, Tom Stahl and the Dangerfields, introduced a song they had written about being God for a day by claiming it would be featured in the upcoming Jim Carrey film Bruce Almighty, filmed in Buffalo and centered around an ordinary guy who becomes God. They later admitted their song wouldn’t be in the movie, but we made a mental note of the film as something that might be worth checking out.

I had my reservations about this film. My first exposure to Jim Carrey was Ace Ventura, and other films such as the sequel, Dumb and Dumber, and Liar, Liar featured a manic, gross-out Jim whose appeal was strongest among pre-teen boys. Though I have to admit that ultimately, Liar, Liar was a pretty good movie… but there was a whole lot of malarkey along the way. Jim’s recent films have, for the most part, been much calmer. I loved his performance in The Truman Show, and The Majestic was great as well. Not to mention that unexpected bit part in Simon Birch. He seems to be veering away from gross-out comedy and into everyday nice guy roles, in which he comes across as very sweet and sincere. I hope he continues in that vein. Nonetheless, this film sounded to me like an excuse for Jim to go nuts with his manic energy and leave a whole lot of blasphemy in his wake. I was pleasantly surprised.

That’s not to say there is no over-the-top or crude humor in this film, because there is. Just far less than I expected. Bruce’s (Jim Carrey) dog delights in defiling the furniture, and we get to see him do it on a number of occasions. When he gets God’s powers, Bruce uses them for such noble purposes as sending a breeze up a leggy woman’s skirt, enhancing his girlfriend Grace’s (Jennifer Anniston) chest, and reducing his rival anchor to a blithering idiot on live television. And there is, of course, some foul language. But compared to some of Carrey’s early efforts, this movie is very tame. And, surprise surprise, it manages to be reverent as well.

Bruce is a guy who feels like the world is against him. When he gets passed up for promotion in favor of the boss’ pet anchor, humiliates himself on live television as the news is broken to him, and gets beaten up by thugs when he tries to defend a homeless man, he thinks his life can’t get much worse. Grace urges him to have some patience and trust God, but Bruce counters with his theory that God’s a cruel puppet master who couldn’t care less about the well-being of his creations. After demanding a sign from God (which he receives, but fails to notice, in the form of road signs that he passes in his car), Bruce launches a tirade against the Almighty.

Next thing he knows, his phone is ringing off the hook, always from a mysterious number he has never seen before (incidentally, a real number – several people in the United States were bombarded with phone calls after moviegoers jotted down the number and called it, leaving their questions and comments for God). Finally, he calls and is directed to a building where he meets Morgan Freeman in three incarnations: a janitor, an electrician, and God. God offers Bruce the use of His powers for a while to see if he can handle it. When he realizes that he actually does have God’s powers, Bruce has a grand old time, doing fancy tricks and, for the most part, advancing his career by creating catastrophes and being the first to report on them. But being God isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as Bruce discovers when he sees the list of unanswered prayers awaiting him. When he takes the easy way out and answers “yes” to everyone’s pleas, havoc ensues. Meanwhile, he’s too caught up in his new role as star newscaster to pay much attention to Grace, and her patience reaches its limits. By the end of the film, Bruce is in quite a mess, and getting himself out of it will require a radical change in lifestyle and a little divine assistance.

Bruce is a pretty likable character in this movie. He’s a decent guy, just down on his luck. Jim’s manic antics come into play mostly when he is trying out his powers, as well as when he does goofy features for the news. For instance, in the opening segment, he parodies Chariots of Fire (again – a similar parody appeared in The Grinch) by running down a line of people with cups in their hands and pouring milk as he goes. A pretty messy moment. (There are several other parodies in the film as well, including a scene reminiscent of the John-Coffey-spitting-out-bugs scenes in The Green Mile and several allusions to The Ten Commandments.) There’s a lot of comedy in this movie, and he is the source for much of it. But it is in his serious moments that he really shines, particularly in his life-altering conversations with God.

Jennifer Anniston is brings a lot of sweetness to the role of Grace. Unlike in the recent film of that title, she really is a “good girl.” And she loves Bruce but feels like she’s not getting much love in return. One thing that caught me off-guard – as well as several others I talked to – was the fact that the two were not married. They live as though they are married, and we don’t learn until the middle of the film that Grace is waiting for a proposal. It’s not a huge deal, certainly nothing deviating from the norm depicted in movies nowadays, but those steamy pre-marital scenes detract just a bit from the reverent feel of the film. But then the film has a lot to do with redemption, so it makes sense that not everything about the main characters’ lives would fit the perfect Judeo-Christian mold.

As God, Morgan Freeman does a fantastic job. He is distinguished but down-to-earth with a gentle sense of humor that makes Him especially endearing. I think it’s the most appealing version of God I have seen on film. At its heart, this is a religious movie, and the director, a devout Catholic, conferred with a clergyman friend of his for advice on what God should say. Freeman’s God is active and deeply concerned for the affairs of His people, but He also encourages them to take responsibility for themselves. “Be the miracle” is the film’s closing sentiment, leaving viewers with the feeling that we should put our trust in a benevolent God but not expect Him to do everything for us. We can make a positive difference in our own lives and the lives of others each and every day.

In the end, then, this is a very worthwhile and reverent movie with enough comedy and drama to keep it entertaining and enough spiritual substance to warrant a sermon or Sunday school discussion. It was much better than I expected, and its merits overcome its low points. As Bruce was so fond of saying in the film, “It’s good!”