Movie Review: He’s Just Not That Into You

Just a couple of noncommercial movie showings over the next week, but they're both rather special. This Friday at 7, the Orpheum is having a bit of a party including M. Knight Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment, as well as "an actual ghost hunt" and a bunch of other events, all starting at 7 Friday, in the Orpheum. And Tuesday at 7:30, one of the best domestic dramas ever filmed, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, about the problems of aging parents and their children, shows at the Blank Page gallery, 917 West Douglas. And commercially, we have an overambitious movie that doesn't quite make it in He's Just Not That Into You. He's Just Not That Into You wants to survey the variety of problems involving women meeting and getting along with men, with Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love on HBO, and Scarlett Johansson involved with Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, and Justin Long. As you can tell just from the list, there's too much material for two hours, and only Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long seem to get enough time to grab us emotionally. And in a way it's unfair, but the very attempt at completeness emphasizes the possibilities that are left out of the list. The most obvious problem along these lines is the one that corrupted the movie of Waiting to Exhale some years ago, the underlying premise that there is no satisfactory life for a woman unless she is seriously involved with a man. The movie Sex and the City had the same problem, with perhaps less emphasis on serious involvements. None of the women seem to have any serious interests except men. We are told that Scarlett Johannson has a career, but unless I missed something while taking notes, we don't even find out what it is until the movie is practically over. The lack of variety in terms of jobs, if not careers, is indicated by the fact that Aniston, Goodwin, and Jennifer Connelly all work in the same office and apparently have all but identical jobs. And there are no indications of other serious interests like politics or social service or extended families or serious hobbies or intellectual interests. The whole off-the-job world is men. He's Just Not That Into You is clearly a chick flick, but men should be flattered by their essentiality. And of course, this being a Hollywood movie, the problems of women who are not babes are totally ignored. Meeting men consists entirely of specific search. There is none of the stuff the lovelorn columns recommend like getting into a hiking club or joining a church where you might meet a man of interest similar to yours. The similar interest is sex, though the movie pretends it's love and the hunting grounds are bars and parties. One is again reminded of Sex and the City, though there is no Samantha, another possibility left out of the list, perhaps justifiably because these women, despite their willingness to get involved with married men, are not looking for one night stands. He's Just Not That Into You is an adolescent's dream of grownup life, despite its efforts at thought and insight. Justin Long is the most continual adviser, but there is so much general advice scattered about on all sides that anybody will find plenty to agree with or argue against, and that may persuade some audiences that there is some depth here. Still, the very format guarantees that things keep moving along, the cast is attractive and Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long are fun, Drew Barrymore has her moments, there are some good one liners, and we're in the season of the year when Hollywood does not release its better stuff. You might as well be satisfied with He's Just Not That Into You at least until after the Academy Awards bring back some good stuff you may have missed. Jim Erickson has been KMUW's film reviewer since 1974. Jim taught Narrative in Literature and Film at WSU from 1966 until his retirement in 1997. Jim's favorite film is Citizen Kane.