With a cast of thousands (almost) there are a dozen (literally) storylines involving couples … this is a super-sized date/romantic comedy/chick flick movie… don’t expect amazing performances or an award-winning screenplay, but it is a fun, entertaining, mushy movie for what it is.

The storylines are all intertwined … Ashton, Jessica, Bradley, Julia, Patrick, Jennifer, Jamie, George, Anne, and Topher… but the movie is slightly formulaic, shallow, and predictable.

(My spoiler-free review)

A day in the life of relationships in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day… engagements, break-ups, make-ups, and hook-ups… the all-star cast features romantic comedy veterans and a lot of theories of love on the biggest day of the year for commercial romance.

While the movie is entertaining and interesting, its everything you would expect in a romantic comedy with about a dozen intersecting stories of love: mushy, mushy, then heartbreak, then mushy, mushy, and some other heartbreak… a lot of the character development is shallow… and as all the storylines weave to a close in the final moments of the movie: predictable and somewhat formulaic endings.

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Sometimes a good cast, a funny concept, and good release date add up to a movie worth recommending…. “All About Steve” is not a movie to rush out and see at theaters… the disappointment with this romantic comedy has both my wife and I saying “wait to rent” on this one.

Sandra Bullock is convincing as a quirky workaholic crossword constructor who becomes obsessive over a tv news photographer.  Bullock has to stay in this contrived character more than her hit “The Proposal” earlier this summer… but overall, that movie is much better than this one.

Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, and Ken Jeong are a decent supporting cast, but the rest of the cast is marginal despite appearances from Howard Hesseman, Beth Grant, M.C. Gainey, DJ Qualls, Keith David, and Holmes Osborne.

The story is neat, but I never really totally got into the movie… there were some funny moments, but most of the funniest moments were in the trailer (something that will top my 2009 Wish List)… that I already laughed at four or five times… the rest of the jokes were on the level of a chuckle or a smirk.  

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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I’ve still got a buzz over “The Hangover”, and while I’m not ready to say it cracks my top 10 comedies of all time… it certainly is one of the funniest “R” rated comedies of this decade.

This movie is a great comedic release for adults, as you can guess by the “R” rating and central plot location… many of the hijinks and jokes are not intended for younger audiences. (Warning to parents and the easily offended)
 

What a great group of best friends that groom-to-be “Doug” (Justin Bartha) has looking to find him when he turns up missing after a bachelor party nobody can remember: cool guy Phil (Bradley Cooper) who thinks he can talk his way out of anything, geeky dentist Stu (“The Office”’s Ed Helms) who’s relationship is a joke all by itself, and Doug’s soon-to-be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who doesn’t have it all together mentally.

There are a lot of jokes, but the filmmakers also take time to let the genius of a couple of the jokes really sink in… with moments of no dialogue after the joke so the audience can really think about what just happened.. and laugh a little more before moving on.

The plot is solid and engages the audience, the acting is good, the cinematography and editing is well done, the soundtrack is perfect, the cameos are fun, and the writing is very well crafted… with jokes getting increasingly outrageous as the movie goes on.

I’m not going to ruin the movie or any of the jokes fo you by telling you what they do or say that is so funny… but the movie’s success and many of the jokes, pranks, and hijinks all hinge on their unique characters.

Even the city of Las Vegas is a strong supporting character that the trio have to interact with during the movie.

And they pull it off… while Cooper’s cool guy is good, and Helm’s awkward geekiness is funny, the real scene stealer is the bearded Galifianakis’ whose oddball actions and sayings really complete the trio of misfits in Las Vegas.

While this movie is funnier overall than other recent “R” rated comedies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Step Brothers”, it also joins these two plus “The Watchmen” (2009) for a reason I wish it hadn’t… male frontal nudity… again.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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A really good, but slightly predictable ensemble romantic comedy that weaves together the romantic lives of nine characters.

Its something we haven’t seen in awhile – a big cast of quality actors and actresses in a romantic comedy – combined with a story that ties them all together – with a storyline that is one part modern twist and one part formulaic traditional romantic comedy.
But the place where “He’s Just Not That Into You” shines is the character development and interpersonal relationships that are under the microscope throughout this movie.

The entire main cast of characters including Ginnifer Goodwin, Kevin Connolly, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, and Drew Barrymore turn in a solid effort of well developed characters in limited screen time.

Goodwin is great as the awkwardly desperate girl-next-door “Gigi” that is trying to find the love of her life, while her girlfriends are comfortable in their multi-year relationships.  The other characters are connected by one or two degrees of separation as friends or love interests and as couples with varying levels of seriousness from “just friends” to married for years.

This is a movie for twenty or thirty-somethings that are still out there trying to find their love… and perhaps an eye-opener for the younger set before they start to “go out” and try to find a relationship.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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