Life As We Know It

Director: Greg Berlanti
Writers: Ian Deitchman, Kristin Rusk Robinson
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel
Release Date: October 15, 2010
Length: 1 hour 55 minutes

Romcom star Katherine Heigl and male model look-a-like Josh Duhamel star in Hollywood’s latest romantic comedy, Life As We Know It. From seeing trailers, posters or knowing who stars in the film, you could easily guess this would be another predictable unfunny story of “hates each other then loves each other”, but don’t jump the gun just yet. In 2007, Holly (Heigl) and Eric “Messer” (Duhamel) were set up on a blind date, by their two married friends, Peter and Alison. Alison is completely repulsed by Messer and he thinks she is way too uptight (how unusual for Katherine Heigl). Three years later, their friends are tragically killed in a car accident, leaving Holly and Messer in awkward positions as the new guardians for their one-year-old daughter Sophie. After serious debate and negotiation, Holly and Messer agree to take care of Sophie, in spite of the fact that they don’t know anything about taking care of a child. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but I genuinely enjoyed this movie very much. I’m not going to give Heigl any praise for playing the same character for 3 years and 3 movies running. Let it be clear that I never disliked Heigl as an actress. From her role on Grey’s Anatomy and Knocked Up, I am convinced she is a phenomenal actress. So you can understand how much I dislike her for choosing roles in cheesy romantic comedies when she has so much more talent to offer. If this is her genre that she has chosen however, let it be because she has finally found a good film within that genre. As I said earlier, Life As We Know It still manages to include the romance that originated from Pride And Prejudice, and includes a few other clichés along the way but the great thing about this film is the original story and clever script written by Ian Deitchman and Kristin Rusk Robinson. There is a genuine romance and a truthful humor in Life As We Know It, which sets it a part from most romantic comedies. The film was certainly helped by two wonderful actors that share a strong romantic, comedic chemistry. Judging Duhamel from his past films, including Transformers and When In Rome, I never considered him that great of an actor. In this movie, Duhamel nicely performs the dramatic and humorous aspects of the character. Life As We Know It is a film that gets away with the occasional cliché or stereotype because it has such a lovable and sweet story. I would have easily marked this film down as an enjoyable guilty pleasure if not for the continuous humor and clever dialogue. A good romantic comedy hasn’t come out in a while, so if that’s what you’re in the mood for, be sure to see Life As We Know It.