How Do You Know – movie review

I love Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd, and I’ve never seen a movie with Jack Nicholson or Owen Wilson that I hated, so I was really excited to see How Do You Know.  It wasn’t the best  movie I’ve ever seen, but nonetheless, it was really enjoyable.

The thing I love most about How Do You Know is how Lisa and George meet under the worst of situations and yet still somehow find a way to make it less awkward.  It’s not just an awkward silent first date, which they did have – they have this date when literally their lives are falling apart.  It’s not the best of situations to meet anybody new.  Things keep happening to try to keep them apart, like running into each other a second time when Lisa has already moved in with her boyfriend Matty, or the bus actually showing up on time when they’re trying to have a moment.

I also enjoyed the actors in this movie that had smaller parts for various reasons.  I loved seeing Mark Linn-Baker as Ron, the company lawyer, because I grew up watching Perfect Strangers but I haven’t actually seen him on anything in awhile.  I also liked seeing Tony Shalhoub as the psychiatrist.  I love Tony Shalhoub, anyway, but I got an extra kick out of my initial thought, “Monk is a psychiatrist!”  They didn’t have a lot of onscreen time, but I still got joy out of their appearances.

There was a scene at the beginning of the movie that just didn’t seem to fit that well.  It sort of fit, but not really.  The movie started with a little boy trying to hit a ball off of a tee, but he keeps knocking the tee over.  When he gives up, a smaller girl, who we have to assume is a young Lisa, takes a swing and hits the ball.  She’s proud of herself, but the boy pushes her down.  Then it goes into the montage that shows us that Lisa is a successful softball player.  I get that it’s to show us that Lisa has always loved sports, but the movie could have worked without it.  It kind of slowed the movie down.

I liked Reese Witherspoon as Lisa.  Lisa is always positive, and when she talks at times, she sounds like a self-help book.  However, she doesn’t know how to handle disappointment.  With her, it’s not so much that we want or need her to be in a relationship.  We want her to be okay with herself, but she only seems to be okay with herself around George.  Reese Witherspoon was very believable and made the journey well worth watching.

I love Paul Rudd, but as I saw him as George, I found myself wondering why he always plays the same guy in every movie.  It works for him, I guess, but George just came off as another nervous business guy who wanted a relationship with a girl who called him out on his awkwardness.  I think he had great chemistry with Reese Witherspoon, and George did have the added bonus of being in legal trouble because of his own father, but I’m starting to get tired of Paul Rudd always playing the same character.

Owen Wilson was funny as always as Matty.  Matty is a womanizer, and a polite one at that.  He finds himself falling in love with Lisa, and anytime he thinks there’s troubles between them, he finds himself willing to change for her.  Matty is a little slow on the uptake, but he’s not a total jerk or anything.  He’s just absolutely wrong for Lisa.

Jack Nicholson as Charles was probably my favorite character.  Charles was a messed up kind of guy, but at the same time, you sort of see his reasoning.  He wants what’s best for his son, but he wants what’s best for himself, too.  When legal troubles arise, the two wants are in direct conflict with each other, and what Jack Nicholson does with that is just great to see.  I don’t remember off the top of my head seeing another role where Jack Nicholson cries.  He’s a toughie and a softie at the same time, and that was just fun to see.

Overall, How Do You Know is a pretty decent movie.  If you pass on it in the theater, it is definitely worth renting.  I know I wouldn’t mind seeing it again myself.