Life or Something Like It

Rating:
Summary: Charming Film With An Unexpected Role From Angeline Jolie
Review: Angeline Jolie takes on the role of a news reporter who seems to have it all, until a homeless prophet played by Tony Shalhoub tells her that she will die within one week. She was very skeptical about his prediction -- until quite a few of his other predictions became true.

From the minute Jolie's character is delivered the gruesome news about her "death," to the scene where she discovers the seer's earthquake prediction come true, we witness a vulnerability and frailty that is rarely seen in Angeline Jolie. It comes as something of a revelation, especially when seeing many of her other films.

From that moment, and on, she begins to undergo an evaluation of her life, and as a result, we see a vital transformation in her character throughout the rest of the movie. She also develops a poignant love connection with Edward Burns' character, which possibly may have been foreseen, as the two exhibited considerable sexual tension, along with the hilarious bickering swapped between them in the earlier parts of the film.

So, did Angeline Jolie's character die? Was the seer's prediction accurate? You'll just have to watch the film, as I refuse to give any of that away.

All in all, a light, poignant romantic comedy with considerable dramatic attributes. Once again, Angeline Jolie gives a rare performance, as there are many traces of vulnerability that are seldom seen in her other performances. Guest appearance from actress Stockard Channing.

Rating:
Summary: Beneath the Fluff & Blondeness: Seriousness
Review: For newsreporter Lanie Kerrigan life is much like her platiunum blonde hair--perfect. She thinks she has it all: smashing good looks, regular aerobics at a trendy gym, a famous ballplayer boyfriend, and a big paycheck. Then one day, she meets a sidewalk seer who tells her that she will die within one week. Of course, she doesn't believe him, but when his other predictions come true, she thinks maybe this one will happen too.

Part of the charm of LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT is that director Stephen Herek takes us from a place that we think we know and want--our glitzy work life--and to a place that we dare not even contemplate--the sureness of the end of life and how we live just prior to the closing of the curtain. Angelina Jolie is Lanie, in one of the most appealing roles of a surprisingly long career for such a young actress. Lanie seems like the typical bland bubblehead that appears daily on our tv screens--all hair, all teeth, and not an original thought in that lovely but empty head. But we soon enough find that beneath the glitter there is a woman who seeks more than what she thinks she wants, but doesn't yet know it. She begins to see cracks in her life. She has long had an ongoing dispute with her sister about whom their father always favored. She recognizes that her baseball boyfriend's idea of conflict resolution is to take nightly batting practice. She has tantalizing remorse about an affair with a co-worker (Edward Burns) that turned out badly but only because he did not fit in with her planned Big Scheme of Things. Then this sidewalk seer Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub) tells her that she will die next week. All of a sudden, she has to regroup and reprioritize. Prophet Jack makes it easy for her. He tells her of the stages that she must pass through from denial to anger to acceptance. Lanie goes through each, with each one forming a subplot to the movie. The most revelatory step occurs on air when she breaks all the rules in a street corner interview with strikers by leading them in a rousing head-shaking rendition of the Stones' I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION. Later, she passes through the final step in another on air interview with powerwoman Deborah (Stockard Channing) when she again deviates from the script in another attempt to secure journalistic integrity.

Yes, LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT is a puffed up piece of romantic fluff comedy but the interaction between Jolie, Burns, Shalhoub, and Channing are solid enough so that as Lanie passes through her prophetic stages to achieve inner calm, so do we. When Lanie claims her prize of affirmation, again vicariously so do we. Only the best kind of acting and directing can do this.

Rating:
Summary: A broken cookie cutter
Review: I have become quite the fan of Angelina Jolie. She has successfully made herself able to portray any role she pleases, and she does them all well. On the surface, this just seems like another cookie cutter Hollywood movie but after viewing I found that the story was clever and the director had great stylistic storytelling abilities. Frankly Angelina Jolie's overhairsprayed, always smiling character Lanie freaked me out and was completely unlikeable in the beginning--not in any certain way--but as the movie progressed I began to see who Lanie really is, she becomes a highly complex and very well written character. I still can't get over the movie's rendition of Angelina Jolie singing Satisfaction, classic.

Rating:
Summary: My Movie Review Review
Review: I had seen Angelina Jolie in many a theatrical presentation be- fore, but I had honestly thought that this was her shining moment. I had loved the on screen relationship between she and Edward Burns. I don't own it yet, but when it goes on sale on VHS, I plan to be the first one in line to purchase it!

Rating:
Summary: Maybe If You're a Part of Edward Burns' Cult Following...
Review: As a result of seeing almost every movie made in the last five years I've been forced to accept that I am exceptionally tollerant as far as movies are concerned (I liked 'Josie and The Pussycats', 'Darkness Falls', and 'The Mothman Prophecies'). So when I think a movie is "just ok", I never argue if the rest of the world thinks its atrocious.

So I guess I'll start off by saying that I thought this movie was: Far-fetched, too long, boring in most parts, and badly acted (with the exception of Jolie, who I recognize is a big exception seeing as she's the star). With that in mind, you'll understand when I say I don't even want to know what a real film critic would have to say about this movie.

I gave it three stars because I like Jolie and (as I mentioned above) she was fine - if you can forgive for ever putting on that that blonde wig. But I would not classify this as a "good movie" or even say that I liked it.

For starters: Edward Burns cannot act. The guy is a joke. Maybe he is a decent director/writer/whatever else it is but whoever first let him in front of the camera should be shot.

And I won't even go into the amount of things that just didn't make sense about the plot, because in romantic comedies the script writer isn't supossed to have trouble tying up loose ends.

However, in retrospect the 'Life or Something Like It' was not entirely unenjoyable. I've already said I didn't exactly like it, however I didn't hate it either.

Who knows what it was, maybe Edward Burns can work his so called "magic" even on those who find him untalented and ugly, or maybe it was Jolie's performance that saved this potential trainwreck from being too horrible. I don't know, but my conclusion is its up to you. I didn't love it, but maybe you will.

Rating:
Summary: Makes you think! That's a good thing!
Review: This movie makes you think about what's really important in life and I recommend it to everyone. Such a great movie, Angelina Jolie shines and the plot and story are meaningful.

Rating:
Summary: Cute movie, worth it to see angelina!
Review: This romantic comedy stars Angelina Jolie (lanie), who is a local news reporter trying to work her way up the network latter. The movie also stars Edward Burns (pete), who is lanie's co-worker -camera man-. Everything in lanie's life is going great until she does an interview with a homeless man who claims to be a psychic, and he tells her she will die in a week. Now lanie questions the decisions she's made in her life, and tries to make peace with herself, and falls in love in the process.

This wasn't one of the greatest movies of all time or anything, but it was funny and cute...and above all it stars angelina jolie! With a PG-13 rating it's pretty much for the whole family as well.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: Angelina Jolie plays Lanie in "Life or something like it". Lanie is a reporter who does everything to get approval from people she thinks will make her career go high. She eventualy has to work with cameraman Pete (Edward Burns), with whom she has had an affair some time ago, but now they both can't stand each other. Then, during an interview with homeless Seattle prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub), the prophet says, among other ... predictions, she has one week to live. After that, Lanie begins to think if her life was what she wanted it to be, and if her relations with people close to her (her family, co-workers and Pete) were right.

"Life or something like it" 's script is nothing you havn't seen yet. It's predictable, even obvious. But I really liked the movie. Why?

1) The on-screen chemistry between Angelina and Burns worked very well;

2) The main trio (Angelina, Burns and Shalhoub) displayed intense and concentrated performances, giving credibility to a poor script;

3) Even if it's a silly story, I thought it very emotive (the actors and the director have important participation in turning a bad script into a nice movie);

4) Angelina jolie stays away from the obvious femme-fatale roles. Lanie still is a femme fatale, but a sweet one this time, not like the terrible character she performed in "Original sin".

I guess that's it. Watch this one, but don't think about the story too much, because there's not too much to think about.

Grade 8.5/10

Rating:
Summary: It's no wonder the movie never really made it...
Review: Angelina Jolie plays Lanie, a news reporter with her whole life laid before she. She has a nice job, a handsome jock for a boyfriend (Christian Kane), and it seems she just might get the job promotion of her dreams! No matter what anybody says, especially annoying cameraman Pete (Edward Burns), Lanie believes her life is perfect. Unfortunately, everything starts going haywire when she interviews a homeless calling himself 'Prophet Jack' (Tony Shalhoub). When Prophet Jack says that Lanie is going to die in a little less than a week, Lanie of course doesn't believe him. But when all of Jack's other 'future revelations' become true, Lanie begins to wonder if she really IS going to die!

*PLOT* - I must say that movie really had potential to become a great movie. It poses the question of 'what if you were going to die, what would you do'? Lanie's character in the movie starts to question her 'perfect life', including her relationship with her father, sister, and boyfriend. She starts to realize that she really hasn't lived her life to the fullest and begins to come out from her stiff ways. I thought that this part of the story was really interesting. Plus her relationship with Pete is so cute, though in the beginning they can't stand each other, you just KNOW that in the end they're going to fall in love. Unfortunately, some parts of Lanie and Pete's romance just doesn't seem to come together. Another bad point is that after maybe the first 30 minutes, the movie goes downhill after that. In the beginning my attention was kept on the screen and I was really interested to know what happens to Lanie. But as the story goes on, I came close to just not caring about the ending and just wanted the movie to finish. Plus the humor starts to diminish after maybe the first 30 minutes or so, making the movie feel dry.

*ACTING* - The acting is on the mediocre side, each actor and actress doing their part but not really giving the characters a chance to fully develop. In the beginning where Jolie and Burns have their bantering, I thought they delivered their lines very well.

*PG-13 RATING* - The movie is rated PG-13 for language and sexual content. I think that the romance between Jolie and Burns would have worked out better without any of the sexual content.

*OVERALL* - Overall, it's no wonder for me that the movie never really made it. Though it had the potential, the movie suffers from a stretched thin plot, not enough humor, and a bit of an unrealistic romance. I'd pass this movie on if I were you. But I can recommend this movie for die-hard Angelina Jolie fans since you'll get to see a lot of her. I give 2 stars for "Life or Something Like It" only because it had some potential and I thought the first part was funny and entertaining. Favorite line:

(Lanie and Pete talking to their boss)
Pete: Do you have another cameraman who can make her look like a natural blonde?
Lanie: My hair is my trademark. Just like the "I don't like to shower" look is your trademark.

Rating:
Summary: Potential was there, but missed the mark.
Review: This had potential. Ed Burns comes up with good concepts and storylines and this movie had a promising plot. But I felt Angelina Jolie was miscast. Perhaps Meg Ryan would have worked here but I never quite bought the character with Jolie at the helm. The idea is Jolie is a driven newscaster who wants to make up for a childhood lived in her sister's shadow (or at least I think that was the point - unfortunately, this is never well defined or clear). She's on the brink of getting her big break when a homeless guy/prophet tells her she's going to die in a week. Most of the movie is thus about how Jolie's character comes to grips with the life she is living (shallow, materialistic, selfish) and the life she supposedly should be living (spontanious and sexual?). Of course, the ending is happy and predictable.