After rushing to theaters for a pre-Academy Awards rampage that included Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, The Reader, Gran Torino, The Wrestler and Rachel Getting Married, I decided it was time for a palate cleanser. I thought He’s Just Not That into You might be just the spoonful I needed.

Fans of the television series Sex and the City will recognize the title as advice offered by a male character to explain male behavior. The phrase led to the book He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys” by  Sex and the City writers Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. But the similarities to Sex and the City do not stop there. He’s Just Not That Into You features voice over narration, on screen titles before each story arc and “person on the street” commentary on these titles. And if anyone watching needs a further reminder of Sex and the City, narrator and star Ginnifer Goodwin looks and sounds very much like Sex and the  City star Kristin Davis. Also, Goodwin’s perky and optimistic Gigi could be the younger sister of Davis’s perky and optimistic Charlotte. 

While watching this film, I began to wonder if the new stimulus bill contained a tax break for employing attractive young stars. In addition to Goodwin (currently dazzling HBO viewers in Big Love), He’s Just Not That Into You stars a parade of beauties that includes Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore (also a producer on the film), Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Connelly. Once I  got past the strange fact that three women in this film will turn around when someone yells   “Jennifer” (according to IMDB “Ginnifer ” is pronounced “Jennifer”), I began to wonder why any man would be “not that into” these  five lookers. But that is part of the fun of the plot, which seems to be combination of a Sex and the City episode and, well, high school. The three degrees of separation plot is as follows: Ginnifer Goodwin likes her blind date (Entourages‘ Kevin Connelly. Yes, there are two Connellys in this film). He likes friend Scarlett Johansson who flirts with hunky married guy (Bradley Cooper). Cooper is married to Jennifer Connelly, who works with Ginnifer Goodwin and Jennifer Aniston. Aniston lives with marriage phobic guy (Ben Affleck). Justin Long (the Mac/pc guy) plays a bartender and friend of Kevin Connelly and, to complete the circle, likes Ginnifer Goodwin.

Miscommunication, betrayal and love fill the screen, along with meditations on the effect of modern technology on dating, and the female tendency to overanalyze and the male to not analyze at all. My male companion refused to discuss the movie at all, so there may be something to this. He wouldn’t even answer my texts or e-mails. When I overanalyzed He’s Just Not That Into You with my sister, she opined, “It was stupid. But I liked it.”

Okay, it may be a little stupid. But what I l liked about He’s Just Not That Into You were the many genuinely funny and insightful moments. The funniest sequence may be the opening scene which starts with small children and continues with tribal women in huts. Each small scene shows women all over the world having the same conversation about men. All of these conversations center on theories that men reject women because the men are too insecure and the women are too darned wonderful. This film is at its best when it focuses on these conversations between the female characters. I found these conversations so realistic that I squirmed with discomfort in my stadium seat. But I also laughed really hard. I was sorry that the writers (spoiler alert) needed to force a happy ending.

So, if you have seen Slumdog Millionaire, and you do not feel like renting the excellent Milk or the small but excellent Rachel Getting Married (both out on DVD), and you are in the mood for a light romantic (ok, it is a chick flick) comedy, you may want to consider He’s Just Not That Into You. You may still be hungry after it is over, but, like raspberry sorbet, it is light and refreshing.

He’s Just Not That Into You. Directed by Ken Kwapis. With Ginnifer Goodwin (Gigi), Scarlett Johansson (Anna), Jennifer Aniston (Beth), Jennifer Connelly (Janine), Drew Barrymore (Mary), Ben Affleck (Neil) Kevin Connelly (Conner), Bradley Cooper (Ben) and Justin Long (Alex). New Line, 2009.

Gail Sees a Movie appears every Wednesday.

Tweet  Print This Post

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies // Add Comment »