How Do You Know

Director: James L. Brooks
Writer: James L. Brooks
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd
Release Date: December 17, 2010
Length: 1 hour 56 minutes

Academy Award winning writer/director James L. Brooks seems to be a guy that hits or misses a movie. An example of the hit would be As Good As It Gets that won 2 Oscars in 1997 and an example of the miss would be Spanglish, a film starring Adam Sandler from 2004. I have only become aware of this hit/miss theory for him in recent weeks as I thought that my enjoyment of As Good As It Gets or Terms of Endearment would be trust enough that I would enjoy any of his movies, including How Do You Know. Lisa Jorgensen is a thirty something Team USA softball player who’s unexpectedly been cut from her team. She starts to see Major league baseball player Matty Reynolds who is very attractive but also a complete moron. George Madison is a business executive who finds himself the target of a criminal investigation for corporate malfeasance, which might have something to do with his demanding father, Charles (Jack Nicolson).  The first and possibly the only thing to appreciate about this movie is that it is a romantic comedy done in an original different way. You can tell that that’s all the movie is (or trying to be) because the only thing that ever happens in this movie is the slow changes of Lisa’s love life. This film is also trying in every way to be funny and the rare one-liners that were humorous were all put into the movie trailer that most people going to this movie have seen. It wasn’t that there were bad jokes that made you feel embarrassed but there were scenes or odd situations where you awkwardly knew you were “supposed” to be laughing. The usual result of not laughing in a hypothetical comedy is being completely bored which is, of course, what happened. In order to not be bored, you don’t necessarily need humor. Genuine interest in the story can help you sit through a film a lot easier even if it lacks humor. Lisa, the protagonist of the film was the furthest thing from intriguing because of a combination of uninteresting writing and Reese Witherspoon’s performance. I didn’t know or really care if she wanted a relationship or casual sex because sometimes she was happy with the great sex from her boyfriend, not caring that he’s an idiot and at other times she would be getting angry at him for doing something a serious boyfriend wouldn’t do, like cheat on her for example. Lisa’s confusion about where she was in her life and what she wanted left no impression on the audience whatsoever. Her two love interests played by Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd were actually interesting and sometimes funny but were usually overpowered by the weak character development and dull plot. Owen Wilson provided the few laughs generated from this movie and Paul Rudd’s cute performance only made me feel sorry for him being in such a pitiful vehicle. Those two actors were probably the only things keeping me from detesting this movie with a passion. The great Jack Nicolson was involved in the most wearisome part of the movie, with a sub-plot that wasn’t completely clear. I never fully understood what the business-related crime was and how it was connected to George’s father but by the end, I just wanted that sub-plot over with. The romance between Witherspoon and Rudd was a little cute but not much more due to Witherspoon’s annoyingly indecisive character. How Do You Know is not a complete disaster of a film but given the fantastic movies out this season, you’d be wise spending your money elsewhere. You won’t regret skipping How Do You Know.