I’ll start by saying I saw approximately half of “Love Happens” (my explanation on twitter), so I’m deferring the overall rating to my wife… but even she wasn’t overly excited after seeing this one.

You should know that “Love Happens” is not a typical romantic comedy, sort of like Jennifer Aniston’s other recent movie “Marley & Me” wasn’t really completely a comedy… mostly because some of the material is more dramatic than comedic.

 From what I saw (my explanation on twitter), “Love Happens” was different, but also slow and at the same time, typical and formulaic… almost cliche.

Smart boy (Aaron Eckhart) meets clever girl (Aniston)… sure its different because he’s something we don’t see much in rom-coms (a motivational speaker) and she’s a florist… but the way they meet and things start is all mostly storylines we’ve seen before in the multitude of  rom-coms churned out over the last three decades.

Aniston’s character is similiar to many of the characters we’ve seen her play before, especially similiar to “Rachel” from “Friends”.   Eckhart is in a different role, but also similiar to the way he has played conflicted characters before.  The two don’t have the kind of chemistry we’ve come to expect in romantic comedies… I’m not going to say they were just going through the motions, but there was little connection on screen, and less with the audience.

In the end, the movie focuses more on how Eckhart’s character is dealing with his problems than an actual romance between the two.  If you’re expecting a “Sleepless in Seattle” sweet budding love story, you’ll be disappointed – just because its set in Seattle (and all the cliche typical shots of Seattle), its not on the same level as “Sleepless in Seattle”.

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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You’ve probably heard the phrase “you’ll laugh, you’ll cry”… well, in the case of Marley & Me, its totally true!

This suprisingly touching movie might not be what you think from the previews – it is not a feel good cheery Christmas flick - this is a movie that relentlessly goes after your emotions to get you to cry, anyone who’s had a pet will be touched and moved, no matter how much you fight it, you’ll get teary eyed.
 “Marley & Me”

(2008) (rated: PG for thematic material, some suggestive content and language) (2 hrs)

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Kathleen Turner, Alan Arkin, Nathan Gamble

Director: David Frankel

Genre: Romance/Drama/Comedy

The Plot: A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.

MY TAKE (minor spoilers): This movie centers around a couple through the years as Marley grows up and the couple John (Wilson) and Jen (Aniston) has three kids that become very close with Marley.

But Marley isn’t a great dog… several times in the movie he’s referred to as “the world’s worst dog”.

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