Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Someone described He's Just Not Into You as all the lost scenes from Sex and the City merged into one. I think that is a bit of a cheap shot. What it is is a tale of twenty and thirty-somethings who are at critical stages in their lives. Gigi played by Ginnifer Goodwin is a sweet hearted lady who is searching for the love of her life but in her search to do so misreads all the signals. She is befriended by cynic Alex played by Justin Long who begins to advise her on the traits of men and utters those immortal words; He's Just Not Into You. Janine played by Jennifer Connelly who is Gigi's best friend is married to Ben played by Bradley Cooper and are going through a rough patch which results in him developing a relationship with Anna who is played by Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile Anna is having an on and off thing with Conor played by Kevin Connolly who is quite clearly crazy about her but sadly for him it is not mutual. Anna finds herself confiding in Mary played by Drew Barrymore who is also looking for love and has joined the online dating scene. Then there is Beth played by Jennifer Aniston and Neil played by Ben Affleck who have been together for seven years but Neil is in no hurry to pop the question.

After seeing the trailer I was really looking forward to seeing this film but despite the hype of the book I was not sure what to expect. I was not disappointed because the film proved to be even better than I expected. All the ingredients for a great film were there; wonderful believable characters, a great script and funny dialogue. Yes the ending was a bit inevitable but trust me there are some surprises along the way. The relationship between Gigi and Alex is superb and very entertaining to watch. I have never heard of Justin Long (according to Wikipedia, he is the guy in those Apple ads) and I have no idea who Gennifer Goodwin is but they really make this film the wonderful piece of work it is. The film borrows from the scenarios from the book such as; why has he not called you? Why is he not sleeping with you? Why he has not asked you to marry him and uses them as a basis for the outline of the plot. You would think that a movie with quite a lot of characters and entwined plots would end up being a tad bit cramped but director, Ken Kwapis does a great job of keeping things on track.

He's Just Not That Into You

Do you remember that episode of Sex and the City when Burger gave Miranda a few tips on guys? She'd been out on a date but the guy had not called her and Miranda who is an astute and savvy woman could not work out why. Burger nailed it in six simple words; he's just not that into you. There it was, one sentence that would go on to set millions of women free. Then some clever dickey bird (or two to be precise) decided to put it all in a book. Greg Behrendt (who briefly worked as a writer on S&TC) and Liz Tuccillo gave us He's Just Not That Into You, a book that would act as a guide to women about men and dating. The book is divided into chapters and set out in a Q&A format and every dating scenario that you could imagine is covered. Here are a few:

1. He is afraid to get hurt
2. He does not want to ruin the friendship
3. Maybe he is intimidated by me
4. He did not call because he lost his phone, got run over, was caught in a tropical rain forest etc....

The answer is the same - He is just not that into you!

This book was published in 2004 and became a New York Times Bestseller and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

So like all successful books, Hollywood just had to turn it into a movie and with such a catchy title how could it not be. The culprit this time is Drew Barrymore who has bought the rights to the film. As well as starring in it she has a stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck. The film focuses on four couples in their twenties and thirties where one partner is more into the other person. I am sure I am not the only one who will admit that the book really did strike a cord with me and it really gives you an insight into the way men behave. The film trailer looks hilarious and had me in stitches and I can definitely say it is on my 'got to see' list.

He's Just Not That Into You is released in February 2009.