He's Just Not That Into You - Movie Review

“Why hasn’t he called me yet?”

This question is one that haunts cohorts of girlfriends across the globe. No matter how obvious it is, most women don’t like to admit that they can’t bag the current man of their dreams.

Rejection, however, is a part of life. Men aren’t always playing a game of complex signals and romantic mystery. Sometimes, they are simply not interested. Such an epiphany is the foundation of Ken Kwapi’s movie, He’s Just Not That Into You. Regrettably, rather than emphasizing its fresh perspective on human relationships, Kwapi’s ironic mess adheres to clichés and turns a potential comedy into an everyday chick-flick.

The recently released film boasts an A-list cast, with stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, and Drew Barrymore playing the lead roles. The movie details the lives of five different women, all of whom face the exact same conflict: they cannot inherently notice whether or not a man is interested in them. Gigi (Gennifer Goodwin) obsesses over every man she meets at a club and constantly checks her phone to hear his voice again or discover a romantic text; Beth (Jennifer Aniston) can’t understand why her boyfriend of seven years (Ben Affleck) will not propose to her; Janine (Jennifer Connelly) distrusts her husband and believes he is lying about his decision to quit smoking; Ann (Scarlett Johansson) has developed a promiscuous affinity for a married man, and Mary (Drew Barrymore) is simply tired of potential boyfriend candidates dumping her through several technologies, including her outdated MySpace.

Conclusion: every female character in He’s Just Not That Into You is an unlikable freak. Gigi stupidly asks men if their promise to call is trustworthy, Janine consistently dampens the film’s energy with her flaky demeanor, and Ann continues her nonchalant love affair with a married man while flirting with a good friend on the side, never demonstrating any sign of a moral dilemma the entire time.

Essentially, these women are all self-centered idealists who ignore the rules of social normality and indulge in “awkward turtle moments” whenever possible. In fact, the biggest problem with He’s Just Not That Into You is its inability to foster protagonists. Each woman in the movie presents herself as a whiny, presumptuous fool who is as socially adept as she is consciously aware of rejection and its implications.

If the film’s writers wanted the audience to appreciate the movie’s humor and interconnected web of storylines, they should have established the main characters as likeable, relatable individuals. Most movie-going females will not resonate with the social outcasts this movie has to offer.

Truthfully, there are a few hidden gems in He’s Just Not That Into You. Periodically, the audience is treated to hilarious, short-winded monologues regarding different themes that operate as a prefix to the film’s title and representations of the main characters’ dilemmas (“If he’s not marrying you…” “If he’s not sleeping with you…”). These rare comical moments are refreshing rather than unwarranted, and actually commit to the movie’s unorthodox proposal: Let’s show women how it really should happen!

Unfortunately, this original idea eventually collapses as nearly all of the women gain a happy “Hollywood ending,” claiming wholeheartedly that their personal situations are “exceptions” to the rules of relationships.

Really? Wow. If the point of the movie is to teach reality of rejection, why does nearly every character still find a Christmas present under the tree instead of a lump of coal? All of the thoughtful novelty the film promised is lost. None of these women dynamically evolve into the seekers of truth one would expect. They remain in their ignorant lives of fiction as the audience is spoon-fed a senseless conclusion that is all too recognizable.

Essentially, He’s Just Not That Into You brings nothing new to the table. Every character is a banality in addition to an annoyance. The writing is mediocre and the organization of five or six storylines is not well executed. Audiences will be greatly disappointed with Kwapi’s final product, not because it is a poor adaptation, but because it is poor filmmaking.

It’s not the worst movie in the world. I’m just not that into it.