He's Just Not That Into You

Men are not from Mars, women are not from Venus, and contrary to what John Gray's global bestseller might claim, there is no simple solution to getting what you want in relationships.

We all fear rejection, misinterpret signals and agonise about whether feelings are reciprocated.

All those shelves of self-help manuals might promise to unlock the secrets of the opposite sex but in truth, it's hard enough making sense of your own maelstrom of emotions, let alone second-guessing what someone else is thinking.

Based on the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He's Just Not That Into You is an ensemble drama-comedy about the affairs of the heart of myriad twenty- and thirty-something men and women living in present day Baltimore.

The characters counsel one another on the pitfalls of mating and dating but amidst the tears, humiliation and occasional declaration of undying affection, one thing is clear.

Men and women are equally clueless when it comes to making pretty ripples in the dating pool.

More often than not, they drown.

Screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein cut back and forth between the interconnected storylines, focusing in part on Mary (Drew Barrymore), who has an enviable array of caring, supportive men around her.

Alas, they are all gay and Mary is bewildered by the reliance on the internet to forge connections that were once made in person.

'If I want to make myself more attractive to the opposite sex, I don't go get a new haircut,' she bemoans, 'I update my profile.That's just how it is.'

Mary is a friend of sexy yoga instructor Anna (Scarlett Johansson), who is stringing along real estate agent Conor (Kevin Connolly) but would rather share the bed of businessman Ben (Bradley Cooper).

Unfortunately, he's married to Janine (Jennifer Connelly), who works in the marketing department of a spice company with Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin).

Beth is frustrated that long-term beau Neil (Ben Affleck) refuses to go down on bended knee after seven years together.

Meanwhile, Gigi ricochets from one disastrous date to the next, accepting advice from bar manager Alex (Justin Long), who seems to have all the answers.

'If a guy doesn't call you, he doesn't want to call you,' he instructs Gigi bluntly.

Maybe there is something she can teach him in return?

He's Just Not That Into You is a disappointingly familiar scrapbook of relationship highs and woes, culminating in the usual array of broken hearts, smouldering kisses and wedding vows.

Ken Kwapis' film feels considerably longer than 129 minutes, although this isn't time to flesh out so many characters in sufficient detail for us to care deeply about their fates.

In particular, Gigi's dealings with Alex confound plausibility, relying on an abrupt power shift in the film's closing chapter to ensure the cutesy resolution which is signposted two hours earlier.

• Release Date: Friday 6 February 2009

• Certificate: 12A

• Runtime: 129mins

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