He's Just Not That Into You (film)
He's Just Not That Into You | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Ken Kwapis |
Produced by |
Nancy Juvonen Michael Disco Gwenn Stroman |
Screenplay by |
Abby Kohn Marc Silverstein |
Based on |
He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo |
Starring |
Ben Affleck Jennifer Aniston Drew Barrymore Jennifer Connelly Kevin Connolly Bradley Cooper Ginnifer Goodwin Scarlett Johansson Kris Kristofferson Justin Long Nana Kagga |
Music by | Cliff Eidelman |
Cinematography | John Bailey |
Edited by | Cara Silverman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 129 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $40 million |
Box office | $181.1 million[2] |
He's Just Not That Into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on the self-help book of the same name by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which in turn was inspired by a line of dialogue in Sex and the City. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Justin Long.
The film was produced by Drew Barrymore's production company, Flower Films, while serving as an executive producer. The film grossed over $181 million at the worldwide box office.
Plot
Nine people in Baltimore deal with their respective romantic problems, usually thwarted by the differing ideals and desires of their chosen partner. At the center of this is Gigi Phillips (Ginnifer Goodwin), a young woman who repeatedly misinterprets the behavior of her romantic partners.
Gigi and Alex
Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a single woman who repeatedly misreads mundane actions and comments from her dates as indications that they are romantically interested in her, and frets when the guy does not call her.
In attempting to meet Conor Barry (Kevin Connolly), a real estate agent, at a bar, she befriends the bar owner Alex (Justin Long), who reveals the strategies men use to avoid a woman. He explains that if a man is interested in a woman, he will overcome any obstacles to ensure they date again, and that Gigi has been misinterpreting and obsessing over imagined "signs" that she receives. Their friendship continues, and Gigi interprets his eagerness to always assist (such as taking Gigi's call while he is on a date) as a sign that he is interested in her. She makes a move, but Alex claims he is not romantically interested in her and chastises her for ignoring his advice. She angrily replies that at least she has not let herself become cynical and bitter like him.
Gigi eventually moves on from Alex, however, in a role reversal, Alex begins falling for Gigi. After leaving several unanswered messages, Alex arrives at Gigi's apartment to declare his love. Gigi thinks that she is the rule, but after Alex suddenly kisses her passionately, he says that she is his exception.
Janine, Ben, and Anna
Gigi's friend and co-worker Janine Gunders (Jennifer Connelly) is having difficulties in her marriage to Ben (Bradley Cooper). As Janine obsesses on their home renovations, Ben becomes attracted to Anna Marks (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga instructor and aspiring singer, and the feeling is mutual. Ben and Anna pursue a flirtatious friendship under the pretense of him helping her establish a singing career. Ben reveals to Anna that Janine once gave him an ultimatum by threatening to leave him if he did not propose. Ben agrees to be friends with Anna, and in order to flirt with him she strips and jumps naked into a swimming pool. She invites him to join, but he decides against it.
Fervently anti-smoking (due to her father's death from lung cancer), Janine pointedly asks Ben if he has been smoking and later is perturbed to find cigarette butts hidden in their back yard. Ben insists that they are not his, and their contractor, Javier (Luis Guzman), says none of his workers smoke at the house. During a tense shopping trip, Ben reveals to Janine that he has cheated on her. Janine is devastated but rationalizes Ben's behavior, blaming herself for being too cold in the relationship, and decides she wants to save their marriage.
After a positive meeting about her singing career, Anna begins to have sex with Ben in his office. They are interrupted by Janine who, hoping to spice up their marriage, has arrived unexpectedly. Anna hides in a closet, and Ben attempts to send Janine away who then makes a heartfelt plea to save their marriage, and there are indications she succeeds in seducing him. After Janine leaves, Anna angrily departs vowing to cut ties with Ben. As Janine tidies up Ben's clothes back at their completed house, she discovers a fresh pack of cigarettes in a pocket, and she explodes in anger. When Ben returns home, he finds his clothes neatly folded with a carton of cigarettes and a note attached from Janine asking for a divorce. Janine moves into a new apartment by herself to start a new life, and Anna is later seen performing at an upscale nightclub. Ben is alone, purchasing the same beer at the same supermarket where he met Anna.
Conor, Anna, and Mary
Meanwhile, Anna enjoys a close friendship with Alex's friend, Conor. He is romantically interested in her, but Anna is only interested in a casual relationship. Conor misinterprets her hugs and cute nicknames for potential romantic interest.
Anna's friend, Mary Harris (Drew Barrymore), works in advertising for a local newspaper, and helps Conor promote his real estate business in a series of print ads. Like Gigi, she meets many men (mostly online), but despite constantly monitoring emails, pager, phone, and Myspace messages, her dates go nowhere.
While Conor attempts to cultivate a gay clientele, two gay men tell him how he is going wrong with Anna. Taking their advice, Conor decides to declare his love to Anna. Vulnerable after falling out with Ben, Anna agrees to start a serious relationship with him. But when Conor proposes buying a house and moving in together, Anna admits she doesn't want to, and they break up.
Mary later runs into Conor, recognizing him from his ad photo, and introduces herself, since they have only spoken over the phone. They hit it off, and start dating.
Beth and Neil
Gigi's other co-worker, Beth Murphy (Jennifer Aniston), is living with her boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), who is also friends with Ben. After seven years of dating, Beth wants to get married, but Neil does not believe in marriage. With Gigi's newfound pragmatic stance on relationships after advice from Alex, she announces she will no longer misinterpret vague gestures from men as more than they really are. This spurs Beth to confront Neil about their relationship. When he still doesn't want to get married, she breaks up with him.
Later, the preparations for her younger sister's wedding brings the issue into sharper focus for Beth after hearing many back-handed comments from various family members. During the reception, her father Rod (Kris Kristofferson) suffers a heart attack. Beth looks after him as he recuperates while her sisters wallow, and their husbands remain glued to the television playing video games and watching football with constant takeout as the household falls into chaos. As Beth reaches the end of her patience looking after her siblings and in-laws as well as her recovering father, Neil arrives with groceries and helps with the chores. The two reconcile, with Beth saying that Neil is more of a husband to her than her sisters' spouses are to them, and she will not insist they be married. Neil later proposes to her, and they marry in an intimate ceremony aboard his sailboat.
Cast
- Ben Affleck as Neil
- Jennifer Aniston as Beth Murphy
- Drew Barrymore as Mary Harris
- Jennifer Connelly as Janine Gunders
- Kevin Connolly as Conor Barry
- Bradley Cooper as Ben Gunders
- Ginnifer Goodwin as Gigi Phillips
- Scarlett Johansson as Anna Marks
- Justin Long as Alex
- Kris Kristofferson as Rod Murphy
- Hedy Burress as Laura
- Stephen Jared as Steven
- Nana Kagga as Party Guest
- Busy Phillips as Kelli Ann
- Leonardo Nam as Joshua Nguyen
- Rod Keller as Bruce
- Wilson Cruz as Nathan
- Morgan Lily as Little girl
- Natasha Leggero as Amber Gnech
- Cory Hardrict as Tyrone
- Greg Behrendt as Priest
- Sasha Alexander as Catharine
- Corey Pearson as Jude
- Frances Callier as Frances
- Angela V. Shelton as Angela
- Bill Brochtrup as Larry
- Peter O'Meara as Bill
- Brandon Keener as Jarrad
- John Ross Bowie as Dan the Wiccan
- Luis Guzman (uncredited) as Javier
- Mary Stuart Masterson (uncredited archive footage from the film Some Kind of Wonderful) as Watts
Production
Baltimore, Maryland, was selected for the setting of He's Just Not That Into You as an alternative to the common New York or Los Angeles settings of romantic comedies.[3] In addition, screenwriter Marc Silverstein had lived in the city for several years prior to attending college.[3] However, only exterior shots were filmed in the city. Interior scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.
The film's original release date was postponed, moving from October 24, 2008 to February 13, 2009 then to February 6, 2009.
Reception
Critical response
As of July 9, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 40% of critics gave positive reviews based on 155 reviews.[4] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film a 47% approval rating based on 30 reviews.[5]
Box office
In its opening weekend, the movie made $27.8 million, topping the box office. Its total US gross amounted to $93,953,653 while internationally it grossed $84,436,590 bringing the worldwide gross to $178,390,243 against a $40 million budget.[6]
Awards
Year | Group | Category | Recipient | Result |
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2009 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie – Romance | He's Just Not That Into You | Nominated |
Choice Movie Actress – Comedy | Jennifer Aniston | Nominated |
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released on June 2, 2009. The Blu-ray version of the release includes a digital copy. It has grossed $26,350,178 in US DVD sales. The film was sold to E! for 4% of the film's domestic box office (~$3.6 million) for television broadcast after the opportunity passed for the USA Network and HBO to pick it up.[6]
Soundtrack
He's Just Not That Into You: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
Released | March 10, 2009 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Label | New Line Records |
The soundtrack album was released on March 10, 2009 by New Line Records.
- "I'd Like To" – Corinne Bailey Rae (4:06)
- "I'm Amazed" – My Morning Jacket (4:34)
- "Don't You Want Me" – The Human League (3:57)
- "Supernatural Superserious" – R.E.M. (3:24)
- "Madly" – Tristan Prettyman (3:18)
- "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – Talking Heads (4:55)
- "By Your Side" – The Black Crowes (4:29)
- "Buscando Olvidar" – Alfred Gómez Jr. (3:48)
- "I Must Be High" – Wilco (2:59)
- "You Make It Real" – James Morrison (3:32)
- "If I Never See Your Face Again" – Maroon 5 (3:19)
- "Can't Hardly Wait" – The Replacements (3:04)
- "Fruit Machine" – The Ting Tings (2:53)
- "Smile" – Lily Allen (3:15)
- "Somewhere Only We Know" – Keane (3:57)
- "Love, Save the Empty" – Erin McCarley (3:17)
- "Friday I'm in Love" – The Cure (3:35)
- "Last Goodbye" – Scarlett Johansson (2:32)
- "He's Into Me" – Cliff Eidelman (2:24)
Notes
- Although Scarlett Johansson is seen singing in her last scene of the film, the song she performs is not actually heard.
- Eidelman's score cue is not included on the physical song CD; it is only part of its download release.
Score
He's Just Not That Into You: Original Motion Picture Score | |
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Film score by Cliff Eidelman | |
Released | March 10, 2009 |
Genre | Film score |
Length | 31:55 |
Label | New Line Records |
The score for He's Just Not That Into You was composed by Cliff Eidelman, who recorded his score with an 80-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring Stage.[7] New Line Records released a score album.
- "Prologue/The Signs" – 2:39
- "Mixed Messages" – 0:57
- "This Other Woman" – 1:19
- "Not to Be Trusted" – 1:55
- "No Exceptions" – 2:05
- "Sailing" – 1:27
- "The Love of Your Life" – 1:16
- "Are You Going to Marry Me" – 1:32
- "Mary at the Blade" – 0:42
- "The Pool" – 1:12
- "He's Into Me" – 2:24
- "You Don't Fall in Love That Way" – 2:07
- "Tables Turn on Alex" – 0:56
- "Janine Revealed" – 2:43
- "Beth's New Day" – 1:38
- "Anna's Truth" – 0:54
- "Will You Marry Me" – 3:07
- "End Credit Suite" – 3:03
References
- ↑ "HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. January 13, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ↑ "He's Just Not That Into You (2009)". The Numbers. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- 1 2 Chris Kaltenbach (2009-02-01). "Baltimore Perfect Setting for 'He's Just Not That Into You'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ↑ "He's Just Not That Into You Movie Reviews". IGN Entertainment. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ↑ "He's Just Not That Into You Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- 1 2 "He's Just Not That Into You - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The-Numbers.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ↑ Dan Goldwasser (2008-08-15). "Cliff Eidelman scores 'He's Just Not That Into You'". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
External links
- He's Just Not That Into You at the Internet Movie Database
- He's Just Not That Into You at Box Office Mojo
- He's Just Not That Into You at Rotten Tomatoes
- He's Just Not That Into You at Metacritic