I have seen several movies with Jack Nicholson over the years. I have enjoyed most of his performances, but I’m not really a fan of his. I didn’t care for some of his movies. I thought that As Good As It Gets was over rated. I do really like Diane Keaton. I started to see previews for Something’s Gotta Give a few months ago and thought it looked good. I was able to go see it recently.

Harry Sanborn was a successful man. He hadn’t dated a woman over thirty in forty years. He was a lady’s man that had never been married. He didn’t want any long term commitments. He was currently dating a woman named Marin. They were going to her mother’s beach house for the weekend. Marin’s mother was Erica Barry, a successful playwright. Marin and Harry hadn’t been dating long and they were planning to be intimate for the first time over the weekend.

Erica and her sister Zoe arrived at the House and found Harry in the kitchen. Erica thought he was a burglar. Erica was shocked to learn that he was dating her daughter. It was decided that all four of them would stay for the weekend. Harry and Erica weren’t getting along well. They just seemed to rub each other the wrong way. There was some interesting conversation at dinner. Later that night Harry had a heart attack.

Harry was recovering in the hospital. His doctor, Julian Mercer, knew who Erica was and seemed to be interested in her. Harry was released from the hospital, but as a condition of the release, he had to stay on the island until he was stronger. Somehow Harry ended up staying at Erica’s. Zoe and Marin left, so it was just Erica and Harry in the house. She was uncomfortable with him being around at first, but she got past that. She was working on a new play, and some of her encounters with Harry inspired her. They spent time together and got to know each other better. Erica seemed to be developing feelings for Harry. Julian stopped by to check on Harry and asked Erica out on a date. She was surprised, but flattered that he was interested in her. Harry knew that Julian asked Erica out and seemed upset about that.

CAST

Jack Nicholson - Harry Sanborn
Diane Keaton - Erica Barry
Frances McDormant - Zoe
Keanu Reeves - Julian Mercer
Amanda Peet - Marin

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers.

Something’s Gotta Give was released in December of 2003. The movie was 117 minutes long and rated PG-13. There are some things that happened that young children shouldn’t see. I don’t think that kids would be interested in the plot of the movie anyway.

Something’s Gotta Give was a romantic comedy. Harry started out involved Marin, and then found himself interested in her mother, Erica. Julian, who was younger than Erica, was also interested in her. There haven’t been too many romantic comedies with two older characters getting involved. Most of the time if there is an older man in the movie, he ends up involved with a much younger woman, like what was going on with Harry and Marin at the beginning of the movie. Harry was still older than Erica, but only by a few years. Harry and Erica were both getting older, and things related to that to deal with. Dealing with those things did lead to some funny things in some scenes. There were some more serious moments in the movie as well, but overall it was a very funny movie.

There were several sexual situations in Something’s Gotta Give. There was one actual sex scene in the movie. It was between Erica and Harry. Some of what went on during that scene was funny. I’m not sure if that stuff was intended to be funny or just ended up being funny. Clothes were taken off in that scene, but there wasn’t any actual nudity in the scene. A little earlier in the movie, Erica was shown nude briefly. It was only a matter of a second or two. In another scene, Harry’s bare behind was shown. I really didn’t need to see that. During the movie, Erica also had to deal with the interest of a younger man. Julian was drawn to her right from the start. There were some things that were said at different times that were sexual in nature. There were also some hints that some other sexual stuff was going on, but there weren’t any other sex scenes. People who are offended by sex scenes or uncomfortable watching them should probably stay away from this movie.

Erica and Harry were the main characters in Something’s Gotta Give. It was quickly established that Harry was a lady’s man. He didn’t date anyone older than thirty and never got serious. He changed after his heart attack. He was interested in Erica after that, though he still wasn’t interested in a commitment. Harry wasn’t that nice of a guy, especially in how he treated women. I didn’t think his character was attractive at all. Erica was a total opposite of Harry. She hadn’t dated in a long time. She had been married, and did seem interested in being involved again. She couldn’t stand Harry at first, but she changed her mind within a few days and jumped into bed with him. It was a little unbelievable that she would change so much so fast. Erica and Harry were the most developed characters. Marin was only in a few scenes and she seemed to be really shallow. Julian and Zoe had even less screen time and were flat characters.

The acting in Something’s Gotta Give was very good. I didn’t really like Harry, but Jack Nicholson was very good in the role. He was very funny in some of his scenes. Diane Keaton was wonderful as Erica. She was very believable in the role. Frances McDormant was great as Zoe. She just didn’t have enough scenes in the movie. Amanda Peet’s part in this movie was small, but I think she was in more of this movie than she was in High Crimes. Keanu Reeves wasn’t in much of the movie either. There was nothing special about his performance, but that isn’t anything new for him.

CHARACTERS

Harry - He was sixty-three and had never been married. He only dated women who were young enough to be his daughter. He didn’t want to be in a committed relationship. He really didn’t treat women too nice and was a bit of a jerk. He did change after he had a heart attack. He was attracted to Erica then, something new for him since he had never been interested in women her age before, but he still didn’t want a commitment. She seemed to care about her, and that was different for him so he didn’t know what to do.

Erica - She was a successful divorced woman. She rarely dated and wasn’t sure how to respond when a younger man showed interest in her. She was horrified that her daughter was dating Harry, and didn’t like him too much at first. She became interested in him as she spent more time with him. She wasn’t sure what to do in some situations she found herself now in.

Marin - Erica’s daughter. Marin had been dating Harry for a short time and took him to her mom’s beach house for the weekend. That is where he met her mother. Marin was young, and seemed to be a little flighty at times. She didn’t see anything wrong with her going out with Harry, but she fell apart when she learned that her dad was seeing a woman only a few years older than she was.

Zoe - Erica’s sister. Zoe taught a college class. She was also single. She didn’t hesitate to share her opinions. She was more out spoken than her sister.

Julian - The doctor that took care of Harry after his heart attack. Julian seemed to be concerned about his patient, but he was very interested in Erica.

I did enjoy Something’s Gotta Give. It was a funny and entertaining movie. People in the mood for a good romantic comedy may like this one. Fans of Diane Keaton or Jack Nicholson may also like the movie.

Related Reviews
High Crimes ~





Recommended: Yes