Credit: wikipedia
We can’t help but feel intrigued when Hollywood attempts to give us the inconvenient harsh truth. Most of what Hollywood produces give the audience unrealistic expectations about love and life. When a movie comes forward and delivers something other than a happy perfect ending, it comes as a painful refreshment. We don’t feel good about the story, but our perspectives are opened as a result.
He’s Just Not That Into You is based off a book by the same name. The book did not have a storyline but instead provided structured details as to how men react to women and why they go running in the opposite direction. The punchline for each scenario is, of course, that he’s just not that into you.
Based off all these “men interpretations,” the movie revolves around the lives of several modern Baltimore couples who are all connected in some way. The characters cover the spectrum from serial first dates girl to the married couple who met in college, presumptively so that everyone in the audience will be able to relate to at least one of the characters.
We have seen our fair share of romantic comedies, and this one certainly tops the list in humor. Most of the laughs come at the expense of Gigi, the girl who goes on dates with lots of men but never for more than one date. Why? Because they become just not that into her right off the bat. Every embarrassing remark or act by her causes viewers to squirm. For once, Hollywood is showing how real girls find love: they stumble without grace.
There is cheating among the married couple, undoubtedly one of the most prevalent causes of the end of all marriages in the U.S. There is a couple that has been dating for nearly a decade, but one does not believe in marriage. Take a second and think that over. Can one truly fault that way of thinking? If over half of marriages end in divorce, doesn’t that necessarily mean that between two siblings, one will be divorced?
So in a nutshell, the movie does a great job delivering performances of the struggles and tensions among modern couples. It appears that gone are the days where love came organically at a young age and would last for a lifetime.
Then, the movie abruptly changes gears and gives most characters a happy ending, destroying the “harsh realities” theme that made the movie so appealing in the first place. We generally liked the movie, but it would have been more profound had the Hollywood endings been nixed.
