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How do you know

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Director           James L Brooks
Cast                 Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Katherine Hahn, Mark Linn-Baker, Lenny Venito, Molly Price, Ron McLarty, Shelly Conn
Year                2010
Genre              RomCom

The trailer says - How Do You Know….. when you are in love? How Do You Know….. when you are in trouble? My question to ace director James L Brooks is “How Do You Know….. WHEN YOU HAVE MADE A REALLY DRAB ROMANTIC COMEDY THAT ALMOST PUTS YOU OFF TO SLEEP”?  Surely you should know that Mr.Brooks.  Considering that you are an academy award winning and nominated director who has given us the likes of “As Good as it gets” and “Broadcast News” both of which were highly acclaimed movies – rightfully so.  But I guess everyone is human and has their lows.  I am sure hoping to God that this was your all time low Mr. Brooks.  I don’t think the world is ready for another really drab RomCom especially from directors like you.  We may just about lose faith in the concept. I am not kidding you folks.  I actually had to wake up my brother mid way through the movie and I don’t think he was to blame in any way.

Lisa Jorgenson (Reese Witherspoon) is a softball player for the United States National Team.  She is about to be cut from the list of the final 18 for the year.  She is 31 years old (Gawd I am going to die with so many movies about 30+ people) and the head coach thinks she is slow…. By about 0.3 seconds …. Which may actually cost them a game or two (No wonder they say sports is getting extremely competitive these days).  The rest of the coaching staff doesn’t agree with the argument but don’t have much of a choice.  Lisa loses her place in the side and to make matters worse finds herself in a weird relationship with ace baseball player Matty (Owen Wilson) whose idea of being a long way into a relationship is that he has only one bridge to cross – nameless sex.  And if that is not sufficient, enter the 3rd corner of the triangle – George (Paul Rudd) who is facing an indictment thanks to some crimes that his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson) has committed over the past few years.  All of this leads to a confused state of mind that Lisa finds herself in – torn between a rich future with a star baseball player who makes $14 million a year and gifts her Cartier diamond watches and the not so rich almost jailed flat broke man of her dreams.

The movie is so slow that it can compete with a snail or a tortoise for who would finish last.  The editing is totally awry.  In fact absent.  Ditto for the acting and I wonder where the June Carter (Walk the Line) version of Reese Witherspoon disappeared.  Although she still delivers a strong performance.  Jack Nicholson continues to be the saving grace.  But the trio of the constipated Paul Rudd, the over confident Owen Wilson and the extra hyper pregnant Katherine Hahn make a mash up of what could have been a decent movie with a zillion or so cuts.  The saving grace are a few of the dialogues and some funny moments.  But there is little or almost no romance in the movie.  It is just the overall feel of the movie that makes me classify it as a RomCom but seriously – where is the romance?  Imminently avoidable.  Loads of other movies available to see anyways.  4 on 10 for the bit of humour and some strong acting from Jack Nicholson and Reese Witherspoon.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3436250649/
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