Rating:  

Gracie Films, Road Rebel, and Columbia Pictures.

Written by: James L. Brooks.

The title poses the beginnings of an age old question – how do you know when you have fallen in love with the right person? This is a concern which dogs Reese Witherspoon’s Lisa Jorgenson for virtually all of James L. Brooks’ overlong and tiresome 2010 romantic comedy, “How Do You Know”. Looking for love and unable to decide on whether or not she has found Mister Right, Witherspoon’s emotional conflict provides the skeletal framework for a frustrating film that ranks as one of James L. Brooks’ more disappointing efforts.

The “How Do You Know” question also manifests itself into the daily lives of Lisa’s two male love interests, George (Paul Rudd), a corporate executive who may be faced with jail time for a crime he believes he is wrongly accused of, and Matty (Owen Wilson), a veteran relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals who, in nearing his mid-30′s, is considering settling down and putting an end to his carefree groupie and partying lifestyle and having a wife and family.

At the outset of the film, Lisa has just started dating Matty and is instantly drawn to him via their connections with the sport of baseball. Lisa is a Team USA softball star readying herself for competition and Matty pitches in the major leagues. When Lisa is not added to the latest Team USA competition roster, her world is shaken and conveniently, along comes George. George has just learned that he has been implicated in a potential criminal investigation and his alleged “conduct” has resulted in his immediate termination. He is ordered to avoid all company contact, except for with one man…his father (Jack Nicholson) who works for the company. The news, when given to George’s girlfriend, results in her sharing with George some long-standing break up plans and suddenly George is completely alone.

Unable to read Matty for seriousness and/or commitment, Lisa agrees to go out on a date with George. After increasingly awkward conversation, George and Lisa decide to share dinner in silence and depart from one another’s company feeling as if their connection was a mistake. But alas, this is a romantic comedy and we’re only one-fifth of the way in at this point – so you know George and Lisa are not really done with one another, right?

“How Do You Know?” is at times a mind-numbingly frustrating movie; yet one which remains uniquely watchable. The narrative of “How Do You Know” essentially revolves around one concept repeated time and time again; Witherspoon’s Lisa is dating Matty, only to run to George when Matty makes a selfish or bad relationship decision. Then when George errs or doesn’t keep Lisa interested, she heads back over to Matty and this goes on and on and on throughout the entire film. I understand that James L. Brooks may have been attempting to tackle the notion of how human beings make daily life choices and each one has a payloaded ramification built in. I get that. I mean, how do we know that those decisions are good and just ones. How do we know if we have chosen the right people to spend the rest of our lives with? How do we know whether we want companionship or a single life? What is truly right for me and where do I find my passion in life? Lisa, George, and Matty debate and try and answer these questions, but Brooks fails to make us care one iota about their journey in getting those answers.

Reese Witherspoon is alright in the lead role and shares some sparks with her male counterparts. Owen Wilson is saddled with having to be “the funny” and “the outrageous” throughout the entire movie and his Matty is simply too shallow and self-absorbed to draw any real sympathy or empathy for. Paul Rudd offers the strongest connection to Witherspoon but is weighed down considerably by the completely distracting and unnecessary corporate financial criminal subplot. Why Brooks crowbarred in a subplot which attempts to put the timeliness of corporate misconduct in this mix of 30-somethings looking for love is a but if a baffler to me. The screenplay not only wastes a game Jack Nicholson supporting performance but adds another layer of annoyance the viewer has to sort through and process.

Ultimately, there are a lot of negatives to throw at “How Do You Know?” but in all honesty, I laughed in parts – sometimes considerably so. I suppose Brooks deserves some credit for extracting good moments from his own troubled and meandering screenplay. Overall though, “How Do You Know” just feels lazy and uninspired. The story is so thin that it seems to ask a lot of the viewer to stay engaged with a lead character who goes back and forth from boyfriend to boyfriend, bemoaning a life that is actually not all that terrible when all is considered.

So…how do you know? Well, if you watch the film you can try and decipher whether Brooks says anything profound on that topic. I found he largely avoided it and just let the overall comfort blanket of the romantic film genre dictate where this film and this story ended up. For me, the film simply feels bloated and full of overwrought subplots and pounds a repetitive narrative beat into the ground. All in all, a rather unfortunate disappointment.

Should I See It?

YES

You will watch every romantic comedy released, and with Witherspoon, Rudd, Wilson, and Nicholson in the cast, who could honestly blame you?

There is enough humor here to make those weary of a “chick flick” rest a little easier.

NO

Honestly, these characters are all unlikable for much of the film. It takes every ounce of your being to not scream and yell at the decisions and actions these characters make. I can appreciate flawed and real characters in film. These people move from passable to annoying to insufferable from scene to scene and grow tiresome by the end.