The romantic comedy is based on a popular best-seller from Sex and the City scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, and other well- known actors such as Jennifer Connelly and Bradley Cooper star in this newly-released movie.
The story line of He’s Just Not That Into You concerns a group of twenty-to thirty-year-old men and women who are struggling in trying to navigate through various relationships, and learning to read the signs of the opposite sex.Neil, who is played by Ben Affleck, is in love with his seven-year-and-running girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Aniston) but doesn’t want to leave his single male life in order to settle down and get married.
Beth eventually forces Ben (Bradley Cooper) and his current girlfriend to get married before he is ready; and Ben subsequently ends up having an affair with Anna (Scarlett Johansson); who is bored with her boyfriend Conor.
Drew Barrymore plays the lovably stupid character who seems to have a myspace addiction and who uses various technologies to meet men. None of these relationships seem to work out for her.
Both viewers from WCHS and critics came out of He’s Just Not That Into You with contrasting views on how it displays women and relationships. Sophomore Megan Buskirk said “I felt that it was unrealistic and kind of a dumb story; it had a couple funny parts, though.” Erin Szabo, a junior from WCHS, seemed to feel differently: “I thought it was really funny; it was entertaining and was better than other chick flicks I have seen.”
Another issue that came up from this movie was whether it bashed women and how they act with the opposite sex. Top critic Peter Travers from Rolling Stone asked “Are women desperate or just desperately stupid?” He called this movie “a women-bashing tract disguised as a chick flick.” Several senior girls from WCHS didn’t feel that vibe from the movie: they actually thought “It was really good, not discriminating at all,” said Lindsay Price. Becca Condon, who was sitting right next to her, agreed: “It was very good; I loved it.”
Certain viewers felt it displayed relationships in negative ways, while others felt the filmmakers hit the dating world right on. “It made me never want to be in a relationship; it was a waste of my time and money,” said current senior Gwen Dreyer, shaking her head in disgust. On the other hand, junior Michelle Laws thought it was really good: “I thought it was cute: it was so true and displayed the [portrayal of relationships] in a funny way.” Many girls sitting around her laughed in agreement.Overall, it was generally well-liked by students at WCHS but didn’t pass too well with Rotten Tomatoes: it only received a 42% total. He’s Just Not That Into You runs a little over two hours and was released on February 6, 2009.
