Why Doesn't He Call?
Written: May 12 '09 (Updated May 12 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Big name cast, steady plot, good opening scene.
Cons: Too many scene changes/emotional about-faces, to enjoy movie snacks.
The Bottom Line: A good date movie but suitable to other occasions.
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| topreviewerman's Full Review: He's Just Not That Into You |
Have you ever heard Dr. Laura lecture women about men? Time and again she tells them, "Men are not complicated." That's what comes across in He's Just Not That Into You. It's not rocket science.
The movie itself does a pretty good job of conveying its message although it has its critics. I remember going with a friend to see The Last Temptation of Christ only to be met at the door by pickets from our church. They hadn't seen the movie, but they knew it was objectionable. I didn't think so. I believe their problem was they never watch any movies but hear sermons every Sunday. They couldn't appreciate what was done as a work of art but which would not fly in a sermon. "He's Just Not That Into You" is the reverse of that. It sermonizes about real and possible relationships, and it does that very well, but those expecting a work of art will be disappointed.
I'm speaking of "sermons" in the general sense of presenting some moral or practical lesson, not a religious one per se. However, if one wanted to, it would be easy enough to find a verse in the Bible to go along with it. (Romans 13:13) "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." We'll just ignore all the religion in Romans that goes along with it.
"Walking honestly, as in the day." Mary (Drew Barrymore) is struggling, trying to understand men who communicate through so many portals: e-mail, texting, My Space, Facebook, voice mail, tweating, and twitter. Is he trying to reject her "through seven different technologies"? Social connections. Let's consider just one of them, the telephone. The Amish who are very much into social visits, eventually rejected the telephone for socializing because it was unable to convey facial expression, body language, and dress code. "Walking honestly, as in the day," in terms of social encounters, to them meant face-to-face and in-person, which is what seems to work best for Mary too. I'm reminded of the words to Curtis Delgado's song, Hip Hop, Baby: "Hip hop, baby, if you really wanna love me,/ You can't do it on the telehpone./ Hip hop, baby, if you really wanna love me,/ Come on over, and let's get it on."
"Not in rioting and drunkenness." That would apply to Gi Gi (Ginnifer Goodwin) who in the opening scene as a little girl is pushed and insulted by a little boy on the playground for no apparent reason ("rioting"). She grows up to be treated rather shabbily by men whose social life revolves around bars and drinks ("drunkenness.")
"Not in chambering and wantonness." Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Neil (Ben Affleck) have been living together, shacking up, "chambering," without benefit of marriage for seven years now which is causing a crisis with Beth—"We're going against nature!" Ben (Bradley Cooper) a married man is being tempted to cheat on his wife Janine (Jennifer Connelly) by fooling around with the lovely Anna (Scarlett Johansson)—"wantonness."
"Not in strife and envying." Beth attending a family wedding restrains herself very well from striving with her siblings who have left her all the domestic chores. And when her dad calls her his favorite and is about to announce it to everyone, she stops him, preventing envy from her siblings.
These little sagas are all interwoven together through multiple social relations the characters have with each other, giving a nice feel to the plot which otherwise could seem disjointed. When we get to a point the writers (Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein) want to make—like why does a man say or do such and such or what does he mean when he says so and so—, the action suddenly stops, the point is flashed on the screen in black and white lettering, and then some stand-ins give their testimony and make their point. Then the movie continues, probably from a new thread.
But that's what a sermon is like. You have some kind of outline either in the bulletin or on the sign out front. Some kind of saga in illustration is presented, bolstered by testimony and exhortation, and all tied together with a unifying Bible passage. Sure, the Bible isn't quoted in the film, but if you're a church person, you should be reading your Bible anyway and know what it says, and if you're not a church person, you won't care. The problem occurs when you're looking for great art (which probably isn't there) instead of implicit themes which are there.
I personally liked this movie. It moved around a lot, but there is some underlying unity to it all. It's not up there as a great work of art, but if one takes it like sermon material it's both enlightening and inoffensive. Date movie, great. Serious movie, not bad. A movie to kill time watching, oh, it'll do that all right. It would especially be suitable for oddball occasions where none of the standard fare seems to fit. I'm easy to please, so I'm going to go ahead and recommend it as long as you are not looking for something in particular that is not this one. Enjoy!
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Date Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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Epinions.com ID:
topreviewerman
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Member: Earl Gosnell
Location: Eugene, OR
Reviews written: 80
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
BSEE, U. of Cincinnati. Ordained minister, United Congregation of Friends. Poet Laureate, Longfellow, Colorado.
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