Dinner and a Movie With Zak and Mandla

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Author: Zak Stoltz and Mandla Gobledale

The first thing that should be said about He’s Just Not That Into You (2009) is that it is an awesome movie to see with your guy friends (if you are a guy). Ladies, you know you’re going to see it anyway.

Set in Baltimore, this new romantic comedy, directed by Ken Kwapis, sports an all-star cast that hasn’t been seen since, well, the last big all-star chick flick in 2003, Love Actually.

A relationship scenario-based movie, the plot is guided by voice- overs of the insane main character Gigi, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, and chapter titles like: “if he’s not calling you back…”, “if he’s not marrying you…”, “if he’s cheating on you…” (and all the other relationship woes you can imagine). Kind of like a book.

And wouldn’t you know it – the movie is based on a book! But that doesn’t mean it’s original. Most of the scenarios – cheating husband, confused/stalker girl, players, and homewreckers – could have been taken from plenty of other romantic comedies. As a result, He’s Just Not That Into You falls short of its mark. It’s fun and entertaining, but lacks the spark of originality that is essential for any movie to be referred to as “good”.

Unoriginality aside, this largely character-driven film manages its many subplots with grace, moving from one couple to another with quick cuts and a healthy paralleling of plots.

Justin Long rocks as the unlikely player, but come on dude! You had a chance with a fine girl and you chose the stalker?! Get your priorities straight. Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck are the only truly likable characters in the film. We were rooting for them the entire time.

As for stalker girl Gigi, she was annoying as all hell, and she wasn’t even that funny. Did we say not that funny? We meant not funny at all. Kevin Connolly, useless.

Given the sheer number of characters in the film, we can’t blame it for not having the best character development. But we can blame it for the sheer number of characters. We’ve decided that it should be a rule of thumb that if you can’t fit all of your main characters in an elevator, it’s time to get rid of producer Drew Barrymore. Especially if she can’t spot the boom mic creeping into the shot in scene 13: “Gigi in the bathroom being annoying.”

He’s Just Not That Into You is a really sweet movie. It has something that everyone who’s ever been in a relationship can relate to. But that’s probably because it portrays every relationship scenario known to man (and woman).

Zak: I’m just not that into the title of this film because it takes too long to type. But seriously, it’s a cute movie that will put a smile on your face and a bounce in your britches. It’s a feel-good chick flick. No more. No less.

Mandla: Can’t write out the title of this movie because of our word count, but it has enough comedy to keep it afloat. Still, it’s nothing new. No snazz, no jazz.

He’s Just Not That Into You is like a big old stir-fry of chicken, pork, beef, tofu, shrimp, turkey, duck, and 37 different kinds of vegetables. It’s good, but sometimes you’re just like, “Oh, hey, that’s right! There is a trout glaze! I almost forgot.” And you will inevitably prefer one type of meat over the other, but because there’s so much variety, you only get two shrimp. So if shrimp’s your favorite, you’re screwed. But if chicken’s your favorite, well, you’re still screwed.

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