*****TURNING A SELF HELP BOOK INTO A FILM? SERIOUSLY???*****

Before I say anything about this film, first of all I have to ask you this . . . have you ever READ the book this film is meant to be based on?

I hated it. Could not stand it AT ALL.

I found it an utterly patronising piece of crap which would do nothing but fuel the insecurities of millions of females. I thought the male half of the writing team behind it was a condescending twit who assumed every other male in the world thought like him. I'm assuming some DO; but I don't believe guys are all the same; in the same way that not all females are the same.

That being said, I was intrigued at the idea of a movie of the same name. After all, how do you turn a non-fiction, so-called "self-help" book into a film? Surely, I thought , it couldn't be done.

And yet someone achieved the impossible. And produced a movie that is actually fairly entertaining. Go figure.

*****CAST*****

Ben Affleck - Neil Jones
Jennifer Aniston - Beth Murphy
Jennifer Connelly - Janine Gunders
Kevin Connolly - Conor Barry
Scarlett Johansson - Anna Taylor
Bradley Cooper - Ben Gunders
Ginnifer Goodwin - Gigi Phillips
Drew Barrymore - Mary Harris
Justin Long - Alex

*****SO WHAT IS IT ABOUT?*****

The movie itself, which features a fairly impressive cast in terms of stars as you can see from the cast list above, shows several interlinking stories which all fit into the themes shown in the book and expound the theories . . .

*Gigi/Connor/Alex
Gigim a girl who is consistently unlucky in love and constantly misinterprets signals from men, goes on a date with Connor at the beginning of the film. She likes him, but fails to realise that HE is just "not that into" her. After some mild stalking goes wrong, she gets chatting to Alex, who tells her all about men and that, if Connor was that into her, she'd have heard from him by now. These theories are completely new to Gigi, and she begins to use Alex as her dating coach and guru. But is there more to it than that? Could a guy who is cynical about love and a total player ever fall for a hopeless romantic like Gigi?

*Connor/Anna
Connor may not be all that interested in Gigi, but he IS like her in his relationship, or whatever it is, with Anna. She is clearly not all that interested him, while he worships the ground she walks on. She is only nice to him when it suits her, mainly when she is feeling insecure and wants to feel better about herself. And, of course, she is interested in another man far more than she is interested in Connor.

*Anna/Ben/Janine
After a chance encounter in a store, Anna and Ben fall for one another. The problem? Ben is already married to Janine. Annd actively pursues him and, to be frank, Ben doesn't really put up much of a fight. Which doesn't say much of the sanctity of marriage, or a lot about his character's morals.

*Neil/Beth
Neil and Beth have been together for seven years and it's clear they really love each other. However, the one bone of contention in their relationship is the fact that Beth really wants to get married . . . and Neil doesn't. Can their relationship last when they have such different views on such a major issue???

*****THE PERFORMANCES*****

Sometimes when you have so much star power in a film, it ends up disappointing. However, I couldn't really say that anyone in this film but in a bad performance. For me, Ginnifer Goodwin's performance was the standout - she was perfectly cast as the adorable Gigi. You couldn't help rooting for her throughout the film as she eagerly searched for the man of her dreams. The scenes between her and Long were fantastic as they seemed to bounce off each other really well and had good chemistry together.

Speaking of him, I personally I found it funny that the character who played the main player of the film Alex was Justin Long. Because he is not the person you would immediately think embodied the idea of a lady's man. Perhaps a bit of a mis-cast there? Yet, somehow, it worked. Strangely . . .

Scarlett Johansen did her usual job of annoying me intensely, which for once worked out for the best since I didn't get the impression Anna was meant to be a particularly sympathetic character.

Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck were very believable as the loving couple torn apart by the big Commitment issue and, as they were both very likeable within their roles, you only wanted the best for them.

However, I felt more could have been done in the cases of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Connolly's characters. They came off as being a little one-dimensional. I don't think in any way this was a reflection on their acting ability; I just don't think they were given enough to get their teeth into.

The only other criticism I have in term of casting was that the fab Drew Barrymore didn't have more screen time. Her role was rather limited and only at the end did there seem to be much of a purpose to her actually being there. Which was a shame, as I love her.

All in all though, stellar performances from the majority of the cast!

*****THE THEORIES PUT INTO PRACTICE*****

The majority of the themes from the book are put forward through the interactions between Gigi and Alex. Alex is clearly being used as the mouthpiece for the "He's Just Not That Into You" mantra and it is he who informs Gigi of many new "truths" regarding men. For example, if a man likes you, he will do something about it. Apparently.

The main theme exploited from the book is that of the "exception" rule. This is when you ignore the advice given to you in the book because you know someone who knew someone who had , for example, a boyfriend who wouldn't commit, but one day woke up and proposed. Or a guy who was always too busy to see her but suddenly asked her her to move in. We are urged to remember that these are the exception to the rules, and we SHOULDN'T think of ourselves as the exception. We are the RULE! These things won't happen to us. This is a rule that Gigi tries to embrace herself and tries to convert her friends to the cause. Her friends don't really buy this, funnily enough. Because to buy into this rule means they may have to realise their own relationships aren't as perfect as they think.

They say (I'm not sure who "they" IS, but you'll have heard this one too, I'm sure!) that in every relationship there is the one who kisses and the one who is kissed. Nearly every "couple" in the film confirms this. Gigi is the kisser in her one-sided relationship with Connor, but HE is the kisser in HIS one-sided relationship with Anna. Similarly, Janine is clearly the kisser in her marriage to Ben.

Anyway, these ideas are all well and good - it's like taking the ideas and applying them as examples to the characters in the book. Which I suppose is a good idea in terms of actually making the themes clearer and putting a face to them and putting tem across in a far more interesting way than the book itself did.. It doesn't make me believe in them anymore than I already did though.

*****SOME QUOTES FROM THE FILM*****

Gigi: We are all programmed to believe that if a guy acts like a total jerk that means he likes you.

Mary: I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies.
Mary: It's exhausting.

Alex: So trust me when I say if a guy is treating you like he doesn't give a shit, he genuinely doesn't give a shit. No exceptions.

Gigi: Hey sorry to bug you again! Uh quick question.
Alex: What's going on?
Gigi: Ok I'm making out with this guy, PG stuff. but he mentions he's going out of town so he's gonna be out of touch.
Alex: Run.
Gigi: But maybe he is going out of town.
Alex: To where? New Guinea? Where's he gonna be that he's gonna be out of touch?
Gigi: Opens bathroom door - Where are you going out of town to again?
Gigi: Pittsburgh
Alex: Run.
Gigi: So what now I'm just supposed to turn from every guy who doesn't like me?
Alex: Uh. Yeah!
Gigi: There's not gonna be anybody left.

*****SO WHY IS IT "INFURIATING"???*****

So you're probably thinking why is it I found this film infuriating, despite enjoying it. Well, once again, it''s all related to these bloody self help theories. You see, despite the fact I think they are ridiculous, obviously I can see a bit of truth in them. Especially when you DO see these examples applied to the characters, it does make it easier to identify.

However, this is Hollywood, right? And once again, this is the vital , inherent problem. Because if you apply these theories all the way through, then everyone is going to end the film unhappy and single. And would THAT be Hollywood? Oh no, it wouldn't. Therefore, in order to make it a happy ending, in order for it to be feel-good, in order for people to leave the film thinking "yay" . . . some of these characters are going to HAVE to become the "exception".

Which basically negates the whole point of the movie as it therefore completely contradicts itself.

That being said, if you can put that cynicism to one side and just enjoy it as a fun chick-flick which examines the relationships between people in a humorous and entertaining way, then by all means, give it a watch!

*****SOME REVIEWS*****

"Expect lots of jokes about how long it should take a man to call you back after the first date. You’re either into that, or you’re not." SUN ONLINE

"The whole resembles a soufflé which simply refuses to rise. " THIS IS LONDON

"An intermittently engaging ensemble which outstays its welcome but contains some peppy performances and amusing observations." SCREEN INTERNATIONAL

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RUNTIME - 125 mins

Available from amazon.co.uk for 5.78 and play.com for 6.99