???He's Just Not That Into You has a lot to offer: an all-star cast, a complicated plot, a gorgeous setting and relatable subject matter. There's just one thing missing: substance.
???The film wants to be an enlightening fable about modern relationships. What we get is a pretentious (and rather silly) set of circumstances that is neither enlightening nor entertaining.
???The film follows three couples and a few singles looking for love. Ben (Bradley Cooper, Yes Man) and Janine (Jennifer Connelly, Inkheart) suffer through fits of dishonesty.
???Neil (Ben Affleck, Smokin' Aces) and Beth (Jennifer Aniston, Marley & Me) have a relationship put to the test over the issue of marriage.
???Conner (Kevin Connelly, Entourage) and Anna (Scarlett Johansson, The Spirit) have problems in the bedroom. Enough said.
???There is also Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin, Birds of America), a cute young girl obsessed over finding the right guy and a notorious misreader of male behavior. Alex (Justin Long, Zack and Miri Make a Porno) is a cynical bachelor who tries to interpret Gigi's attempts to find love.
???And Drew Barrymore shows up, too.
???The film summarizes romantic behavior in small tidbits of information. For example, if a guy says he'll keep "in touch..." he's not interested; if a guy sends you a MySpace request...it's a booty call; if a girl stares at you for five seconds...she's not interested; etc.
???A guy, apparently, is only interested if he immediately follows through. The onus of relationships is put solely on the guy's shoulders, which, one would imagine, is quite a load.
???The charade and constant bickering gets tiring. Nobody seems to know what he or she is doing. It's a wonder anyone hooks up in the first place. The film makes a fatal error in believing that sincerity is hard to come by.
???People make mistakes, and of course there are those who try to brush off potential mates, but peddling gibberish about how a guy shows he's interested by the way he holds his martini is ridiculous.
???The film attempts to be a Woody Allen-esque examination of relationships. However, a Woody Allen film, unlike the film, never makes this many gender assumptions. Allen's films carefully deconstruct relationships to their core, in all their awkwardness and complexity.
???He's Just Not That Into You takes swings on modern courtships without ever hitting anything home besides cheap laughs and questionable dialogue. Will Ferrell's farce Anchorman has more realistic features than this film. Anchorman is funny, too.
???There's also the matter of direction. Ken Kwapis (License to Wed), an experienced comic director, misses on this one. Although he's not responsible for the script (Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein are), he made a bad decision in picking it up.
???That aside, the flow is off balance, the tension is awkward and the focus is, well, unfocused. The sets are beautiful, but Kwapis' soft-focus approach does not let us appreciate the pretty actors and never picks up on any acting chops.
???Love, according to this film, is an exception, not the rule. It's as if Cupid's gone mad and shot his arrow at a gasoline truck (you can thank me for that metaphor later).
???He's Just Not That Into You attempts to set the record straight on modern courtships, but annoyingly fails to impress. It doesn't get into much of anything.
