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Somewhere, there’s got to be a school that offers a class called Romantic Comedy Screenwriting 101. On the first day of this class, there’s probably a discussion about acceptable romantic comedy set-ups. Maybe they talk about awkward office romance or comical cases of mistaken identity. Maybe they go through a number of possibilities regarding chance encounters at a neighborhood bar (cue spilled beer). But I’m pretty sure that, on that first day of Romcom 101, they never mention tragic car accidents and orphan babies. And if any student suggested it, he or she would probably be laughed out of the classroom. Why? Because dead friends and orphan babies are neither funny nor romantic. It’s just plain sad. But, alas, the writers of Life as We Know It decided to give it a shot anyway.
Three years ago, Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) were set up on the worst blind date ever. It was so bad, in fact, that they never even made it to the restaurant. But since their best friends were married to each other—and later became parents to adorable little Sophie (Alexis, Brynn, and Brooke Claggett)—Holly and Messer endured each other’s company.
When their friends are killed in a car accident, Holly and Messer discover that they’ve been named Sophie’s godparents—together. Suddenly, uptight, emotional Holly and easy-going ladies’ man Messer are forced to move into their friends’ house and work together to try to figure out how to raise a little girl. And, somewhere along the way, they find themselves falling in love with Sophie—and each other.
Audiences, meanwhile, will find themselves feeling totally and utterly perplexed. Though Life as We Know It is marketed as a romantic comedy, it’s not always a romantic comedy. Sometimes, it’s a heavy (and depressing) drama, as the characters mourn their friends’ death and fret about poor little orphan Sophie. Then, just when you’re starting to get caught up in the emotion of the moment, the story will take a sudden U-turn toward the ridiculous—and, the next thing you know, Katherine Heigl is walking around with baby poop on her face.
Between those super-serious moments and the perplexingly wacky moments, the story is built on contrived scenarios (Would two responsible adults really name their child’s guardians in their will without running it by said guardians?) and padded with shamefully predictable romcom clichés.
Almost everything about Life as We Know It is awkward and uneven—from the story’s frequent mood swings to the characters’ erratic personalities. Messer spends most of the movie being self-centered and immature, yet audiences are expected to fall in love with him anyway (despite the fact that Josh Lucas’s sweet, stable Sam would make a much better choice). Holly, meanwhile, is straight-laced and structured—except for the times when she’s dim-witted and goofy.
While the predictable story may come straight out of Romcom 101, it’s simply too formulaic and clichéd. And the boilerplate story, along with the uncomfortable setup and the unbalanced characters, keep Life as We Know It from making the grade.
