Guest Author - Caitlin D Neely
He’s Just Not That Into You is a romantic comedy based on the book by Greg Behrendt. It focuses around the romantic lives of nine people in Baltimore.
Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a twenty something woman that is terrible at reading the romantic signals she receives from men. She enlists the help of a bar owner (Justin Long) who gives her dating advice. Ben (Bradley Cooper) and Janine (Jennifer Connelly) are a married couple who have hit a rough patch. Ben meets a yoga instructor and aspiring singer, Anna (Scarlett Johansson), and soon enough begins cheating on his wife with her. Anna is also casually dating a friend (Kevin Connolly) and repeatedly strings him along. Beth (Jennifer Aniston) is in a seven year relationship with her boyfriend who doesn’t believe in marriage (Ben Affleck). She, however, wants to get married. Mary (Drew Barrymore) works in ad sales for a local gay newspaper. She meets all of her men online and most of the relationships end unsuccessfully.
I really enjoy the various actors and actresses in this film. Despite Goodwin’s annoying character, she gives a great performance. It took me awhile to warm up to her character, though. She was needy and obsessed far to much over the various signals she thought her dates were giving her. She does redeem herself in the end. It just takes some time to get used to her.
I like Affleck’s performance. He doesn’t always impress me with his acting (he was great in Good Will Hunting) but he surprises me in this film. He acts with incredible ease in this role. His character was very sweet and still has me wondering how Aniston’s character could even think of giving him up.
The comedy is also sweet and follows the formula of a romantic film. At times it’s a little unrealistic (would a girl like Ginnifer Goodwin really have a hard time finding men?) Unlike some romantic comedies, however, I feel like men will also enjoy this movie. It’s something that a couple can watch together and relate to in different ways. It’s not merely about the romantic dealings of women but also men.
On a small side note, I like the fact that they chose to film part of it in Baltimore. It was nice to visit parts of the city through this movie. It’s certainly not a city that is picked for romantic comedy settings. But it’s a change that I welcome whole heartedly.
