All too often it seems as if audiences will choose to see one film over another not because of an intriguing premise or festival buzz, but because of the star power attached to the project. I’ll be the the first to admit that it’s difficult to be immune to that particular thought process, as it was the banner that read “From Writer/Director James L. Brooks” that drew me to the romantic comedy How Do You Know. Indeed, from the man that penned and helmed superb dramedies As Good As it Gets, Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment, as well as being producer and writer of The Simpsons, one would be expecting complex, interesting characters, worrying and living and finding themselves in painful, truthful situations that also provide the audience with superb funnies.
As far as those interesting characters, painfully true situations, and funnies go, How Do You Know is sorely lacking.
Brooks’ latest begins with Lisa (Reese Witherspoon; Walk the Line), a professional softball player whose career is drawing to a close. She apparently makes everyone on the team better, she apparently is a fantastic player, but she’ll be 31 by the time the next Olympics come around, and so she is cut. She’s entering into a relationship with Matty (Owen Wilson; Little Fockers), another professional baseball player. He’s a womaniser, a narcissist, but he’s likable and Lisa declares that she “needs insensitivity” at this particular juncture in her life. So she moves in with him. Then moves out. Then might move back in. There to comfort her is businessman George (Paul Rudd; Dinner For Schmucks), whom she bumps into in an elevator. He works for a company owned by his manipulative father (Jack Nicholson; The Bucket List), and he’s about to be investigated for corporate malfeasance. He’s a nice, serious guy, but he has no clue as to what it is exactly that he’s done. One thing he does know, however, is that he’s falling for Lisa.
While billed as a romantic comedy, How Do You Know proves itself to be neither very romantic, nor very funny. Even the cast appear to be aware of this; Reese Witherspoon, who is usually quite charming and comedic, seems uncomfortable as Lisa. We’re told, rather than shown, that she’s a lovely person who makes everyone around her ten times better than they usually are. Sure, she spouts a lot of self-help statements and her bathroom is littered with colourful paper bearing motivational slogans, but I didn’t buy it. Nor did I buy Paul Rudd’s George suddenly becoming completely enamoured with her. It’s always clear that George is the better match for Lisa, but there just isn’t enough chemistry between the two for us to believe or care quite enough whether they do end up together. Jack Nicholson, sadly, ends up being sorely underused. Having found so much success with Nicholson in the past, here Brooks casts him in mere caricature. Sure, there are some fine scenes (George’s lame attempts at making a move come to mind) and maybe a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, but a few good moments here and there doesn’t add up to cohesive whole.
Mercifully, How Do You Know holds a couple of redeeming features in the performances of Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd. Rudd, ever likable, provides not only a few chuckles, but a bit of spark as the put-upon George. There’s only so much one can squeeze out of a script that is lacking, and Rudd gives an admirable attempt. Even if he and Witherspoon lack chemistry, he does reach the end credits without having become irritating — a rarity in modern rom-coms. Wilson, too, manages to inject charm into and pull some endearing moments out of the womanising Matty. Luckily for Wilson, Matty proves himself to be the most interesting character in the film. Perhaps the film should have been about him? He’s a player, yes, and he may be immature, but he really means well and is actually completely oblivious to what he’s doing wrong to Lisa. Combined with Wilson’s natural onscreen energy and boyish charm, Matty ends up being one of the few aspects of How Do You Know worth remembering.
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