Once again that recent and already tired Hollywood romantic comedy device of “a widowed man searching for himself who meets and woos a cynical and unapproachable woman who has been cheated on too many times and is sick of men but who rediscovers herself in the process of getting to know this sensitive soul” shtick is recycled here in an as mind numbingly routine chick flick as you can get. While life, as Forrest said, may be like a box of chocolates, romantic comedies aren't, as you always know what's coming, the same tired rubbish recycled only with different stars time and time again.
This time the cardboard cut-out characters are Burke played Aaron Eckhart and Eloise, the kind of “kooky” character which would have been played by Meg Ryan ten years ago but this time the honour goes to Jennifer Aniston.
Burke is a successful author and self-help guru who is quietly still mourning the loss of his deceased wife who who died tragically in a car crash three years earlier. Burke is burdened with guilt and despite his apparently chirpy life philosophy of “when life serves you lemons, make lemonade”, he is a despairing man who preaches of clean living yet quietly drinks vodka regularly to ease the pain. His manager and adoring fans all believe he is a non-drinker, which he plays up to as part of the therapy he serves up at a weekend retreat for grieving people who need guidance, hosted by Burke and held in Seattle, the hometown of his deceased wife. He is also in town for another reason, to sign a major deal with a major entertainment company which plans on marketing Burke out as a household name with talk shows, DVD's, radio spots and even a weight loss shake, because “people pack on the pounds when grieving”.
After spotting Eloise, a florist who is refreshing the hotel's plant life, Burke is smitten and sees this as a chance to overcome his lack of romantic interaction with women since his wife passed away. Eloise is tired and cynical when it comes to men approaching her as her boyfriend has recently cheated on her once too often and being the beautiful woman she is, probably gets it all the time. After initially feigning a disability instead of having to brush him off with chit chat, she eventually gives in to Burke's charisma and powerful jawline. Cue an embarrassing and uncomfortable first date and then a check list of romantic comedy clichés. Will Aniston's quirky free spirit bohemian florist fall for a sharp-suited, moody therapist with a lot of baggage? And do we care?
The film wears it's sentimental heart on it's sleeve, there are many moments here which tug at the heart strings but while that's all well and good when done right, in a comedy there should be some laughs too. Here there are too few comical moments, and most of the very few that exist here are derived from Lane (Dan Fogler), Burke's manager who is basically the comedic foil for the film. He's the token short, fat and curly headed guy in a film full of beautiful movie stars, why wouldn't you laugh?
Martin Sheen provides a welcome supporting role as Burke's father-in-law who is still mourning the loss of his daughter and who hasn't seen his son-in-law since the accident. Sheen does provide some genuinely poignant moments and some light comic relief here but it's ultimately not enough to save the film from sinking into mediocrity.
VERDICT:Plain and simply, this is just another clichéd romance, the kinds of which come and go through the cinema all the time and end up clogging up your Sky Movies channels for years after. This is were it is best suited, Aniston is a pleasing personality on the box and Eckhart hasn't quite reached romantic leading man status just yet, so to pass the time you could do far worse (The Proposal and The Ugly Truth anyone?) but it's just another bland and forgettable entry into an already redundant genre.
Movie Trivia: NONE FOR THIS MOVIE!!!
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