Susan Granger’s review of “He’s Just Not That Into You” (Warner Bros.)
It’s all about relationships, right?
Based on the revelatory best-seller from “Sex and the City” writers Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo, this fun, frothy ensemble romantic comedy, set in Baltimore, blithely touches on pithy dilemmas like “He’s Not Calling You.” “He’s Not Having Sex With You” and “He Doesn’t Want To Marry You,” aimed at insecure women yearning for marriage.
Unable to read signals from the opposite sex, naïve Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is emotionally vulnerable and admittedly desperate. She’s smitten with uninterested Conor (Kevin Connolly), who is crazy about ambitious Anna (Scarlett Johansson), who takes up with Ben (Bradley Cooper), whose marriage to controlling Janine (Jennifer Connelly) is floundering. Meanwhile, after living together for seven years, Beth (Jennifer Aniston) is frustrated by Neil’s (Ben Affleck) avowed aversion to marriage; Mary (Drew Barrymore) has become a cyber-dating victim; and Alex (Fairfield native Justin Long) has removed himself from the emotional fray by becoming the advice-giver from a male perspective.
As directed by Ken Kwapis, these interconnected characters – both male and female – seem remarkably immature and reluctant to take responsibility for their choices. Are young singles really so deficient in sensing and understanding others? They have jobs, of course, but spend a minimal amount of time at them, concentrating, instead, on the conflicts in their personal lives. After awhile, it’s difficult not to become irritated with their callow, whining, self-centered superficiality. But that was true, too, of the wildly popular “Sex and the City,” so perhaps I’ve been out of the dating pool too long.
A stand-out in this top-heavy cast is Ginnfer Goodwin, followed by Jennifer Aniston in her best role since “Friends.” Scarlett Johansson continues to ooze sex appeal while Jennifer Connolly has become scary-skinny and, among the episodic angst, Kris Kristofferson offers welcome diversion as Beth’s outspoken father.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “He’s Just Not That Into You” is a bright, breezy 6, conveying a pop-psychology message about hope, picking up the pieces, starting over and moving on.
