Finally. Finally. The book that took women by storm across the country. The phrase that captured an entire “Sex and the City” episode, has finally hit theaters. And, it’s good.
The phrase, “He’s just not that into you” is first uttered by Jack Berger to Miranda Hobbs in the season-six episode of “Sex and the City’’ called “Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little.” This phrase is inspired by a book of the same name written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo; both executive producers on the show.
When I heard this phrase, I, like Miranda, felt liberated. It was the beacon of truth that we single women desperately need to hear. We go through life over-thinking things and making judgment calls based on small gestures, and we miss the big picture: He’s just not interested. Imagine that? It’s a phenomenon!
Imagine how much time we women could save on waiting, obsessing, and watching the phone if we just thought about it for a pregnant pause, shrugged our shoulders and said, “Hmm. He’s just not into me.”
Imagine what we would do with that extra time: read, write, clean out our closets, create a working budget, catch up with old friends, or even travel. I know, I’m exaggerating. Most women don’t spend that much time obsessing about a man, but we spend a great deal of it.
The conundrum of the whole affair is simply that if he were actually interested, we wouldn’t be obsessing over him. In fact, we wouldn’t have the time to be obsessing over him, because we would be getting ready for a date, or hanging out with him, or even relaxing our nerves because we don’t have to try so hard.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
The movie, He’s Just Not That Into You is an intersection of the lives of women, both taken and untaken. It’s about how relationships begin and end.
It’s also a lesson in the things women do wrong in relationships. Just like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but without the beautiful, leggy blonde as a lead character, supposedly representing real women. The women in this movie are real women. They represent the real women out there who are having problems with men, just like me.
The cast is stellar. Director Ken Kwapis had a tall order to fill. He had to find women to represent the many women out there, waiting to see the visual equivalent of the popular book. Kwapis has accomplished his task. This movie is both funny and enlightening. It speaks to women in a way that most romantic comedies don’t. Screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein need to be commended for making a chick flick, without the normal clichés.
The film is honest. It doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s real and upfront with women, the way our friends and mothers should be with us, instead of massaging our egos. I also like that the women in this movie aren’t extra special, with hidden talents. They’re talented, nice people, looking for love like all of us. The title character, Gigi, is so much an everywoman. She makes the usual mistakes that we women make. There’s a little Gigi in all of us. (There’s a lot of Gigi in me.)
Ginnifer Goodwin, who plays Gigi, is the best person for this role. She naturally has a kind personality, like her character on the TV series “Big Love.” Goodwin has always been the baby-faced cutie pie. It fits her, too. She may have been typecast, but it was a good choice.
I can only touch on each actor briefly, so here goes: Scarlet Johansson as Anna, a singer, is surprisingly good. She’s not playing a Woody Allen muse and it suits her quite well. Justin Long as Alex, a bar manager, is actually believable as a ladies’ man. He’s come a long way from being the Mac Guy. Ben Affleck plays Neil, a guy sworn to never get married, but has perfect husband qualities. I’m sure Affleck’s off-screen life has something to do with his decent performance.
Jennifer Aniston as Beth is a little on the dull side. This is the first time I’ve seen Aniston look her age. She looked tired in this film. But her performance is decent as well. Jennifer Connelly as Janine is typecast as the rigid wife. She gets one moment to be unhinged and it’s the best scene the actress gets. Connelly represents the ideal of rigid quite nicely. Drew Barrymore as Mary is hilarious. She’s so nice, sweet and hopeless that she’s comical. She echoes all the thoughts we women have but never want to admit to ourselves sometimes. Cory Hardrict makes an appearance as Tyrone, a disgruntled bartender. His performance isn’t much to write home about, but he’s cute. And, Kevin Connolly as Conor is decent. He didn’t seem to do much with the role. He basically played Eric on Entourage, but in a “chick film.”
All in all, He’s Just Not That Into You will be echoing in women’s heads for weeks to come. We will let that phrase keep us content. Because the overall message of the film is simple: We women have to stop trying so hard to win a man over. When he’s ready or if he wants to be with us he will.
What we have to do is be ourselves, enjoy life, and stop waiting by the phone for him to call. Because if he were going to call, he would have.
Otherwise, he’s just not into you. Stellar words to live by.
KAliciaG@Aol.com
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