He’s Just Not That Into You
Director: Ken Kwapis
Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson and Drew Barrymore join a crowd of love seekers and booty callers in a movie built around a catchphrase, yet which risks rom-com fatigue with a bloated 2:10 running time.
Directed by Ken Kwapis (License to Wed) from a screenplay by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, He’s Just Not That Into You is the screen adaptation of the cynical relationship rule book by Sex and the City writer Greg Behrendt and editor Liz Tuccillo.
The bestselling tome’s archly instructional tone is maintained, right down to faux chapter headings, with Justin Long’s bar manager character, Alex, bluntly explaining guy code to blown-off and befuddled women.
Alex’s most eager pupil is Baltimore singleton Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), the type of woman you only see in the movies. She’s gorgeous, yet every guy she dates acts as if as she’s wearing man repellent.
The focus shifts abruptly through the picture, which would be irredeemably distracting in most circumstances. But the scattershot technique suits the disjointed minds of He’s Just Not That Into You. Nobody really knows what they want; why should the directors or writers?
As for extras, the DVD is not that into them: just a few deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Kwapis.
