Something's Gotta Give

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Comedies of 2003
Review: I went to see "Somethin's Gotta Give" expecting a romantic comedy
with little or no comedy,but five minutes into this film I discovered I was wrong.The movie is about Harry played by Jack Nicholson a fity something bachelor who has been dating much younger women for years.When his girlfriend Marren played by Amanda Peet takes him to her mothers house the two meet quite hilariously.Erica is an uptight playwright played by Diane Keaton
who hasn't dated a man since her divorce and ends up finding her special someone in Harry.But after Harry suffers a heart attack and is forced to stay with Erica romance blossoms.But Harry's younger doctor played by Keanu Reeves has fallen in love with Erica.Now also bringing light to an already hilarious film is Frances McDormand as Erica's sister Zoe.This film is one of the funniest filns of the year,with Keaton and Nicholson excellently cast this is one great movie

Rating:
Summary: I laughed so hard my husband kept shushing me!
Review: This movie is hysterical! Okay, it's a bit of a chick flick, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and laughed out loud several times!

Rating:
Summary: Hilariously funny and heartwarmingly touching
Review: Not being a Nicholson or Keaton fan prior to this moving I was amazed at how the writer and director changed my opinon within hours. What an excellent feel-good film. I encourage anyone at any age to see this highly entertaining film but wholeheartedly encourge people over forty because this age group will truly reap the amusing, touching and engaging age implications -

Rating:
Summary: Decent, but gross
Review: Ok, this was definitely not a good film. It had its funny moments, don't get me wrong. But it definitely fell into the fluff category. Two things were just disturbing however. First, Keaunu Reeves, or however you spell his name, is known for his real life stupidity. Read about him in the British tabloids! Why is he a doctor in this film!!? It's really not his part. And Jack Nicholson is just gross. He's always been an ugly man, but he's just gross in this film. He's always sweating and just looking smelly in general. Why does he still have a career? This film is probably worth seeing once- just be sure you've got a strong stomach. Nicholson is truly repulsive here. Truly!

Rating:
Summary: A moderate twist on an old standard.
Review: Older man, younger woman; younger man, older woman; older man falls for older woman. This is a romantic comedy but there was less comedy than I expected. Not that the attempts weren't there but I just didn't find a lot of the story that funny.

However, Diane Keaton shines and is worth the price of admission. Jack Nicholson does a fairly good job portraying himself but I never really believed his "transformation". Keanu Reeves plays his character well - it's not his fault that the character is not very deep.

The best parts of the film are with Keaton, either with someone else or by herself. She is definitely the power character in the film. The rest of the movie lacks much punch and even most the scenes with Nicholson don't seem to reach their potential.

I'm giving it 4 stars because of Diane Keaton. The rest of the film gets 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Keaton/Nicholson make an unusal but funny pairing
Review: The central theme of this movie revolves around love affairs vs. age. Famous bachelor Harry (Nicholson) refuses to date any woman over thirty, and this is how he meets Marin (Amanda Peet). Marin's mom Erica Barry (Keaton) is a famous playwright who split with her director husband (Paul Michael Glaser- remember him?)years ago, and hasn't dated much since. When Marin and Harry decide to go to the Barry's Hampton house for the weekend, they are surprised to find Erica and her feminist sister Zoe (Frances McDormand) already there. After a particularly awkward dinner in which the foursome debate about the ever increasing number of aging men dating infantile girls, Harry has a heart attack and they all land up in the ER. Here, the girls are introduced to Harry's handsome attending doctor Julian (Keanu Reeves), who, despite the age difference, is obviously smitten with Erica. He suggests that Harry recouperate at Erica's home where he can come and make house calls before allowing Harry to return to the city. This is where the relationship between Erica and Harry grows from disgust to kindred spirits. It isn't long before the pair falls in love.

It sounds like a basic storyline, but there is so much more in between. First, there's the issue of Marin. Then, of course, Julian has asked Erica out and she's accepted. And of course, the overall question is: Will Harry ever truly change his stripes and settle down with a woman his own age? There are many twists and turns in this hilarious script by veteran screenwriter Nancy Meyers ("Private Benjamin", "Father of the Bride", "Dinsey's The Parent Trap"). It isn't hard to see why Diane Keaton has been nominated for a Golden Globe, as her performance glides from smart and sassy to heartbroken and wretched. A great date movie, as it isn't too girly or fluffy for a guy to sit through.

Rating:
Summary: Indigestible ovary-fest.
Review: Feminist bigotry and female chauvinism easily steal the show in this fantasy sitcom for adolescent women hitting menopause. In films such as this, women are the only people with intellectual depth and emotional trials, and insensitive, thoughtless men drive them to nervous breakdowns. I suggest that the director hold some accountability for her alter ego's emotional fragility.

The usual defense for bubbleheaded candy such as this is something along these lines: "This isn't Dr. Zhivago folks, it's a comedy!" Well, those of us who like good comedies hold them up to standards, and those who are simply looking to alleviate their PMS watch movies like Something's Gotta Give.
Now excuse me while I read the latest issue of Maxim.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Comedy
Review: Rarely do you see a film nowadays that is so perfectly cast, well scripted and beautifully directed. Something's Gotta Give is a romantic comedy that deserves to stand among such classics as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, The Philadelphia Story, and It Happened One Night. It stands out like a diamond in the rough among so many of the flimsy plots that litter most of the comedy films that have graced the silver screen these past few years. Diane Keaton delivers what is possibly the best performance of her career as uptight playwright, Erica Barry, who has given up all hope on love, when an unexpected turn of events turns her world upside down. With the most subtle of expressions and gestures, Keaton is able to make us laugh as we've never laughed before; she says what she means, she expresses how she feels and she does it all with that grace and talent that has captivated audiences for years. Nicholson, in a role which seems to have been written for him, delivers a performance that tops his brilliant portrayal of the obsessive compulsive Melvin Udall in the 1997 film, As Good as It Gets. As the eccentric, yet undeniably loveable character of Harry Sandborne, Nicholson plays a debonair older man who has a reputation for dating younger women. The combination of his character and Keaton's provides for a seemingly endless supply of witty banter and comical yet touching, and at times deeply moving, scenes that will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. This film captures the warmth and enchantingly elusive quality that characterizes the best films of all time. With a supporting cast that includes delightful and perfectly cast performances from Frances McDormand, Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet, this film seems to be too good to be true. One of those rare films that gets better with each viewing, Something's Gotta Give deserves to garner, at the very least, Oscar nominations for Keaton's and Nicholson's brilliant performances, Nancy Meyers refreshingly clever and hilarious script, and the beautiful art direction. Something's Gotta Give served as a much needed breath of fresh air, proving to audiences that the art of filmmaking and the acting profession still have what it takes to charm, seduce and captivate audiences. A true classic film.

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Film Desperately In Search of a Better Title
Review: SEE THIS FILM IF YOU LIKE TRULY FUNNY ROMANTIC COMEDIES THAT ACTUALLY HAVE A MEANINGFUL STORYLINE. My wife was a little reluctant to see this movie given her lack of appreciation for the sort of roles in which Jack Nicholson often stars, but the favorable reviews, potentially appealing subject matter and my desire to see this film overcame her objections and we both enjoyed it immensely. (This was definitely his best performance since AS GOOD AS IT GETS.) Usually I have no trouble finding some meaningless moments during a movie to get the free soda and popcorn refills or take a bathroom break, but the action here was so constant that I was afraid that I would miss something meaningful to the storyline if I left the theater for a few minutes.

The plot is really simple. Erica Barry is a famous playwright in her midfifties who has reacted to her divorce by rededicating herself to her work and efforts at self improvement and settled into a routine that doesn't leave time to contemplate the absence of a male in her life. Marin (Amanda Peet) is her daughter (early thirties) who unbeknownst to Erica has just initiated a relationship with Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson), a very successful sixty-three year old businessman and famous bachelor/womanizer. When Harry and Erica unexpectedly meet at Erica's retreat in the Hamptons, an atmosphere of hostility between them develops almost instantly. That evening, Erica saves Harry's life following his heart attack and meets an admirer in Harry's ER physician, Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves), who has seen every play that she has ever written. In the interests of symmetry, Julian is thirty-four years old, so we have the potential for two May/November affairs and all the potential situations that could arise. Just to make it more interesting, Frances McDormand does a wonderful job of providing commentary as Zoe, Erica's sister and a women's studies professor at Columbia University. But don't jump to conclusions, when Erica is forced to housesit with the convalescing Harry, they both discover that maybe their preconceptions about each other need to be revised.

This is a great movie because Director Nancy Meyers gets the best out of the script and the cast. The timing is near perfect. You laugh when they are crying, and shed tears when things go well for them. In fact, the longer a crying jag of Erica's lasted, the more the audience where we attended laughed hysterically. Everything is clichéd, but these are clichés because they are so true to life and so recognizable, not because they are old and tired. Love vs. lust, the passion of youth vs. the experience and tenderness of age, commitment vs. freedom, order vs. spontaneity, they are all part of this story and examined with true feeling and insight.

And while the outcome seems predictable, there are enough twists of the plot to keep your interest. This is the sort of humor not dependent on the shock value of profanity, and while the movie is much longer (two hours ) than usual for a romantic comedy, the time passes quickly. And while the denouement was certainly predictable, it managed to be a little bittersweet rather than having the saccharine quality of so many films of this genre.

Tucker Andersen

Rating:
Summary: Jack doing his best Jack
Review: SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE brings to recollection the short novel by Jeanne Ray of a couple of years back, JULIE AND ROMEO, which reminded us that women (and men) of "that certain age", and not just the insufferably young and impossibly beautiful, enjoy and cherish sex.

Jack Nicholson, in perhaps his best role in awhile playing ... well, playing essentially Jack ... is Harry Sanborn, a 63-year old record company executive that dates and beds only women under 30. Harry's Lust of the Moment is for Marin Barry (Amanda Peet), who invites her Lothario out to her mother's (presumably unoccupied) beach house in the Hamptons for some hanky-panky. In the midst of the foreplay, however, Mom (Diane Keaton as Erica Barry) shows up with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). After an initial period of tension, which includes a threatened call to the police and the brandishing of a butcher knife, all decide, being adults after all, to spend the weekend under the same roof. Sanborn subsequently has a heart attack. On release from the hospital, Marin goes back to New York and Harry is left to recuperate alone at Erica's home with its 56-year old owner, a noted playwright who's trying desperately to concentrate on writing her next script. A love-hate relationship develops, and the fun begins.

Some of the biggest laughs hinge on nudity. A couple of times, the audience sees Harry's bare butt through the back of a hospital gown, and it's not a pretty sight. On the other hand, Erica has a full-frontal nude shot so brief that, if you blink at the wrong instant, you may miss it. However, if you rent the film when it comes out on DVD and pause it at the right instant, I suggest you'll see that Diane Keaton is still Lookin' Mighty Good. I was impressed. Harry is stunned, but not like you'd think.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE is an enormously engaging romantic comedy as two veteran pros go through their paces. It's biggest flaw is that, at over two hours run time, it's too long by 30-40 minutes and one cardiac episode. (There should be a law prohibiting examples of the genre more than 90 minutes in length.) Moreover, there's an amusing but completely superfluous sidebar involving Harry's 36-year old physician (Keanu Reeves), who falls for an older woman. Guess who? On the other hand, Frances McDormand hasn't enough screen time. (To be perfectly honest, I wish she'd been cast in Keaton's part. Frances is, I think, a much better actress and could have given Erica depth beyond Diane's ability.)

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE is effervescent entertainment for the 2003 holiday season. It's not likely to be nominated for any Oscars, but it's great fun and likely to boost Viagra sales. Go see it with Granny and Grandpa.