Are you the exception...or the rule?
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 129 minutes
US Certificate: PG-13 UK Certificate: 12A
On DVD
He’s Just Not That Into You is a multi-stranded romantic-occasional-comedy that follows a group of thirty somethings in Baltimore, America. Gigi is mental and she’s trying to find the man of her dreams amongst her many unsuccessful dates but when she is ignored by Estate Agent Conor (Kevin Connolly) she goes to a bar and meets Alex (Long), a relationship guru who she inevitably falls for. Elsewhere, Neil (Affleck) drives his long-time girlfriend away (Aniston) by refusing to marry her and Ben (Cooper) is tempted away from his ice queen wife (Jennifer Connelly) by Anna, a barbie-with-boobs (Johansson).
Ken Kwapis’ effort is annoyingly watchable. I normally look down with disdain at these kinds of movies but I just couldn’t keep my eyes off it. The reasons probably being that there are enough strands to keep the viewers’ interest without it becoming too disjointed and whilst not exactly a joke a minute, it is generally funny when the humour does arrive. Also, many of the characters and their actions are believable, well-acted and well-thought out.
That’s not to say that HJNIY isn’t horribly flawed in some areas. Some characters are so completely implausible that it takes an edge off some of the storylines and their messages. Gigi is crazier than a bag of spanners which makes her too mental to think that anyone could get caught in that trap, why anyone would ever choose The Corpse Bride Jennifer Connelly over Scarlett Johansson is beyond me and I just can’t see Justin Long as a player. The dating/relationship analysis is not exactly something that’s either groundbreaking, hard-hitting or subtle either as it’s all laid on a bit thick and is fairly obvious most of the time. I don’t think I’ll be taking any of the characters’ advice, I’ll just stick to lurking around in the bushes.
It's Got: The right number of interconnecting strands, a few laughs, decent acting
It Needs: A few more laughs, more originality, to tone some of the characters down a little
DVD Extras Deleted scenes - wow. But actually, it's the kind of film that doesn't need extras - they would be pointless. DVD Extras Rating: 1/10
Summary
Easy to watch and shamefully enjoyable but no matter how much it tries to seem groundbreaking, it’s really not.