HOW DO YOU KNOW is the new romantic comedy from James L. Brooks, the award winning director that has brought films like TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, BROADCAST NEWS and more recently SPANGLISH and AS GOOD AS IT GETS to screens. In 2011 he brings his new project to the screen under a cloud of controversy. The controversy is to do with the astronomical budget that the film carries, with a reported $40 million of the (reported) $120 million budget going to the four main actors of the piece alone. Said actors are the Academy Award winning Reese Witherspoon, Academy Award winning Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. Let’s say that again. $120 million!!!
So, what does this have to do with the quality of the movie? Well, nothing. Let’s dicard the hefty price tag and judge the film on its merits alone.
The story breaks down like this. Reese Witherspoon plays a 31 year old softball player who looks like she has just got the cut from the national team. Owen Wilson plays her boyfriend, a $14 million a year earning Major League Baseball player and serial womaniser. We also have business firm CEO Paul Rudd who has innocently got himself into a little bit of trouble at his company, which just so happens to have his father, Jack Nicholson sitting on the board. All four people’s lives converge in varying circumstances over the course of the movie, each one of them having to strive to answer the question HOW DO YOU KNOW (that you are in love)?
I had heard some rotten reviews of this movie from across the pond when it was released back before Christmas, and on top of that I have not had the best run of romantic comedies in 2011 so far. I severely disliked LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS, and I happened to catch THE REBOUND on a DVD review copy just the other night. Both of those films struggled from not being able to make up their mind what they were. A romantic comedy, or drama? Of course, you can have both, but they didn’t quite balance it right, and both movies suffered. As always, I try to go into a movie open minded and do not let other people’s opinions get in the way of my own. With HOW DO YOU KNOW, the critics reaction after the screening that I attended on Tuesday morning was very, very negative, and I am struggling… really struggling to find what everyone saw that was so bad in this movie. I will say this quietly. I quite enjoyed it.
Sure there are flaws. I found Owen Wilson’s jock character a little hard after a while, and the same joke was stretched out far much across the movie. Out of all of the characters, I though that Wilson’s Matty was the most under developed, but solid performances from both Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon, and watching the scenes that they were in, made up for it. Again, the film slightly suffers from that aforementioned comedy/ drama inbalance, but not as much as some other movies that I have already mentioned. Jack Nicholson is… well, the solid actor that he is and brings exactly what you expect him to bring to the game… Jack Nicholson. Add a collection of smaller supporting roles played by actors that more than earn their pay and you have a reasonable romantic comedy. I don’t see the major problem with it at all. I actually laughed out loud in various places, I was genuinely taken by some of the more delicate scenes, and I walked out of the room fairly entertained. Brooks’s script is also well written in places. It’s not going to win him any Oscars or anything, but I remember sitting there and thinking… that’s a great line. Bordering on cheese, but fine. It’s a perfectly fine romantic comedy.
The only issue that I see is that people just won’t get to see it. This week is a very strong week for releases, with TANGLED probably taking up a good percentage of screens across the UK, and if your kids aren’t pulling you to see that, then the guys certainly will be dragging you in to cinemas to check out THE MECHANIC. Girls, and obviously guys, if you want a ‘perfectly fine’ little date movie for the weekend, you won’t go wrong with this. Just expect the other half to be asking themselves that question in their head during, and be prepared to discuss afterwards.
Grade: C+
