I Don't Know How She Does It (DVD)

I don’t know how she does it is a 2011 film starring Sarah Jessica Parker and based on the bestselling book by Allison Pearson. This is normally the kind of film that I would avoid like the plague as although I am not averse to a decent romantic comedy such as Notting Hill or Love Actually this just screamed low rent to me. Unfortunately it was my friends turn to pick the film we were going to see at the cinema and she chose this one. Luckily for me it turned out to be an ok film and there were even parts of it I chuckled at although this was more down to the skills of the actors involved than anything to do with the screenplay which I found to be clichéd and a bit dated feeling even though it is such a new film.

I was not familiar with the book before going into the film so I have no idea how faithful it is to that story but I’m guessing not much as I went on IMBD to check out some of the actors and was surprised to see the amount of vitriol aimed at the film from fans of the book. I can only guess that the book was much better but it does seem a bit unfair to level so much criticism at the film as to be it was just a fun, harmless and forgettable romantic comedy.

The plotline for the film has Sarah Jessica Parker playing a married working mother of two trying to juggle the stresses of being a successful business woman with the trials and tribulations of everyday family life.

She is the sort of woman who from the outside appears to have everything, the perfect marriage, the high powered job and the perfect kids. And to be honest she does have all these so the plot of the film is wafer thin as we watch her stress about getting a big promotion, having to throw a kids birthday party and not getting to spend as much time with her husband as she would like to. Of course she does all this with the help of both the perfect husband, the nanny and an assistant so it isn’t like she was trying to juggle all this on her own. I did think whilst watching it what was the point in the film as her life seemed pretty great to me and I would like to see her working a 50 hour week in a factory for minimum wage with no nanny and then see how stressful her life would be. Of course as this is a Hollywood movie we are supposed to suspend belief and actually feel sorry for her.

Of course being a romantic comedy there has to be the possibility of a romance somewhere. In this case as her husband is already perfect along comes her boss who we are supposed to believe she might cheat on her husband with. It didn’t help that Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnen who plays her boss had absolutely zero chemistry together.

Basically the whole movie is just watching Sarah Jessica Parker play a character who goes about her daily life for an hour and thirty minutes and not an awful lot happens.

As I said what made this film enjoyable for me at least were the performances. The whole film rests on the shoulders of Sarah Jessica Parker and although I know a lot of people have an unjustified hatred for the woman I’ve always quite liked her and think she is a gifted comedic performer. I always think she has a natural charm which comes across on screen and although her character in the film could have come across as whiney and unlikeable I actually found myself warming to her which was thanks to SJP’s performance. It isn’t like she is stretching herself though and this could easily have been Carrie Bradshaw the marriage and kids years but hey if your good at something you may as well play to your strengths.

The rest of the cast were pretty wasted. Greg Kineear played SJP’s husband in what was a thankless role with not a lot to do but again I thought he was charming. Pierce Brosnen is an actor I have never much liked outside of the bond films and I think he lacks a certain believability and in this as I said he and SJP have no chemistry whatsoever on screen which does make the supposed romantic friction between them unbelievable.

Playing the best friend is Christina Hendricks from Mad Men who looks good but again isn’t given a lot to do. Kelsey Grammar also shows up playing SJP’s boss but he only has what I can describe as an extended cameo in the film.

Olivia Munn is someone I have read about in the tabloids and seems to be famous for being famous and I’ve never actually seen her in anything before but she absolutely steals the film right out from under her much more famous co-stars. She plays Momo (weirdest name I’ve ever heard in a film) SJP’s uber efficient assistant who not only gets all the best lines in the film but is also where most of the laughs come from thanks to her brilliant dead pan delivery. She is definitely someone I will be looking out for in future films.

I don’t know how she does it is no Notting Hill but it is a light and frothy film that shouldn’t offend anyone and would be perfect Sunday afternoon viewing. Just don’t go into the film expecting anything spectacular and you shouldn’t find yourself too disappointed. You may even find yourself laughing a little.

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes

UK theatrical release date: 16th September 2011

UK DVD release date: 6th February 2012

Rating: 12