It is rare these days for a good romantic comedy to make it to the big screen, so while How Do You Know is certainly not a masterpiece, it is worth celebrating that it is good enough to keep you entertained… and even give you a couple of laughs along the way… now you can’t say that about many Hollywood comedies these days.
For Lisa (Reese Witherspoon – Monsters vs. Aliens, Four Holidays) life has reached a period of change. Firstly, she finds herself dating baseball-star, Matty (Owen Wilson – Little Fockers, Marmaduke), a self-proclaimed man-whore and then she finds herself cut from the United States National Softball Team. As she works through what to do with her life she wonders whether she should be dating Matty or whether she would be better off with her ‘friend’ George (Paul Rudd – My Idiot Brother, Dinner For Schmucks), a guy she was set up on a blind date with. The only trouble is, George is facing a Federal Investigation for the corruption that his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson – The Bucket List, The Departed) has been indulging in for years.
Sure, the story isn’t exactly ground-breaking but there is just something about How Do You Know that leaves you with a warm feeling inside. James L. Brooks (Spanglish, As Good As It Gets) has created a romantic comedy good enough for you to actually give a damn about the characters involved. Lisa is likable, and it’s not often that you get to see a female sports star as a main character. But the character that really sucks you in is George. The guy is one of life’s losers, but he’s a nice guy and you can’t help but barracking for him. You may even find yourself hating Matty simply because you want George to get the girl. This is all because of some smart writing by James L. Brooks. He may not have created a masterpiece but he has created a film that uses some emotional blackmail to tell its audience what they should be thinking. Brooks also needs to be congratulated for creating a character as interesting as Annie (Kathryn Hahn – My Idiot Brother, TV’S Hung). At first you think she is going to be an annoying character but she grows you on you, and at the end of the day she is the character that provides you with most of the laughs.
The big surprise for me with How Do You Know was that I actually enjoyed watching Paul Rudd. I have never been a fan of his, but so good is Brooks at getting you to like George, that I also enjoyed watching Rudd. Some would say that Jack Nicholson is under-used but you get the feeling that these are the roles he wants to do these days…small but meaty… he is good (not great) here, and plays the bad guy in a way that only Jack Nicholson can. Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson are also credible, although you do get the feeling that some of the scenes that called for Wilson to show true emotion were out of his league… still this is one of his better films.
How Do You Knowis never going to pick up any awards but if you are looking for a nice romantic comedy that you are guaranteed to enjoy then this is the film for you. Some good characters and just enough laughs to keep you happy make for one good romantic comedy. Well worth a look!
Year: 201o
Director: James L. Brooks
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson, Kathryn Hahn
Classification: M
Runtime: 121 mins
Rating:
