He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

Considering how impressive the cast of this film is, I would call it one of the more disappointing movies that I have ever seen. In He's Just Not That Into You, a group a hopeful singles' lives intertwine as they deal with the challenges of interpreting the behaviors of the opposite sex. This film is filled with a lot of familiar faces, but there is no one in it that really steps forward and carries the film. Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long have pretty good chemistry, and are definitely the most likable characters in the movie. Unfortunately, aside from these two, everyone else is pretty mediocre. Other big names such as Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck both turn in serviceable work, but their story lines are so week that any talent they have is relatively wasted. The two most relevant actors in the film are Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper. Despite the fact that I generally enjoy most of their work, they are far and away the most dislikable people in the movie. The director of He's Just Not That Into You does such a terrible job of utilizing these two, and makes them so despicable that I have decided to ignore this film when referencing their bodies of work. When I first saw previews of this movie, and looking at the cast, I was extremely hopeful that I would be watching something akin to Love Actually. It may not have been fair to compare this film to one of the best romantic comedies of all time, but as that was all but unavoidable, this film failed to come anywhere near to the former. He's Just Not That Into You was not all terrible; there are few funny moments and a couple of interesting insights, mostly from Justin Long, but as a whole, it was primarily a waste of time. My wife watched with me and I think disliked it even more than I did; we will not be watching it again. I give He's Just Not That Into You two stars.