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So you went on a great blind date, but the guy still hasn’t called back. Or you’re tired of your boyfriend’s fear of commitment. Or you suspect that your husband might be lying to you. You go out for drinks with your closest girlfriends, and, after you pour your heart out to them, they do what girlfriends are supposed to do: they make you feel better. They tell you it’s okay—that he’ll call…or he’ll commit…or he’ll come around. But what if it’s not true? What if, well, he’s just not that into you?
Take Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), for instance. She’s eager to find The One—but, whenever she thinks she’s found him, he ends up blowing her off. After her blind date with Conor (Kevin Connolly), she’s convinced that he’ll call—but, while she’s staring at her phone, waiting for it to ring, Conor’s pining for his friend, Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna, on the other hand, is thinking about Ben (Bradley Cooper), the hot married guy she just met.
Gigi confides in her friends at work, but Janine (Jennifer Connelly) is having her own problems with her husband—and Beth (Jennifer Aniston) can’t get her long-time boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), to marry her.
When Gigi decides to bump into Conor at the bar where hangs out, she meets Conor’s friend, Alex (Justin Long), who tells her the cold, hard truth: Conor won’t call. The guy she met at happy hour won’t, either. And she’s got to stop obsessing and move on.
With its delightfully tangled cast of characters and its easily-relatable storylines, He’s Just Not That Into You is more than just a chick flick; it’s a valuable learning experience. No matter who you are—or what your relationship history—you’ll be able to relate to at least two or three of the characters. And you’ll see your own relationships—or your friends’ relationships—in just about every situation. You’ll remember those nights when you sat by the phone, waiting for the call that never came. You’ll regret your dangerous fascination with the ones you couldn’t have—and your inability to commit to the ones who were right in front of you. And while the story is often funny because it’s true, it’s also sad because it’s true—because so many people get their hearts broken every day over situations just like these.
The story is cleverly written, with plenty of twists (which, admittedly, aren’t always surprising) and interesting coincidences along the way. It’s also a bit awkward at times—but that’s because it’s often so brutally honest that it might make you feel uneasy. Still, the cast makes it enjoyable. You’ll love the characters even when you probably shouldn’t, and, since you’ll be able to relate to their situations, you’ll care about them, too—especially Goodwin’s poor, Gigi, who’s codependent and obsessive and totally adorable.
At the same time, though, while He’s Just Not That Into You is a light and entertaining film, it’s also an eye-opening one. And whether you’re single, dating, or married, it might just teach you a thing or two about your relationships. So be sure to pick up a copy for your next girls’ night in.
Blu-ray Review:
In addition to a digital copy of the feature, the Blu-ray release of He’s Just Not That Into You also includes a handful of extras—like Six Words That Make Up a Film, an interesting (and relatively short) making-of feature that walks viewers through the whole process, from the Sex and the City writers’ room to bookshelves to theaters. Aspiring directors will also want to check out The Director Stages a Scene, an informative extra, in which director Ken Kwapis explains how (and why) he set up one of the scenes in the film.
Also included on the disc are a handful of understandably deleted scenes (most of which are awkward scenes with Johansson’s Anna and her mom) and Baltimore Blade: The Relationship Issue, an interactive “newspaper,” in which the film’s characters offer updates on their post-movie lives. Since the interesting parts of these faux interviews are already shown during the credits, though, it’s not really a must-see.
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