Review

Review Date: 14-December-03
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Something's Gotta Give (2003)

First off, I want to commend Nancy Meyers, the writer-director of "Something's Gotta Give," for boldly reminding youth-oriented America that people over 40 want to have sex, fall in love, and figure out what the hell it all means, just like precocious teens, college students, and career-climbing, fitness-club-obsessed young professionals. I personally find it more heartwarming to witness a flabby old guy working through his hang-ups and finding romance before he croaks than to observe someone like Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Lopez getting past a few awkward moments to hook a hunk in the prime of life. So part of me applauds Meyers' effort, even while another part of me wishes she had achieved and maintained a higher degree of finesse.

"Something's Gotta Give" is the rare movie that starts off very poorly but manages to pick itself up along the way. The first fifteen minutes are a frenetic jumble of ham-handed setups backed by a horribly invasive soundtrack, during which the main characters and themes of the film are presented with all the delicacy of a jackhammer. Thus we find famous playwright Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) arriving at her beach house and interrupting the weekend getaway of her twentysomething daughter (Amanda Peet) and her daughter's 63-year-old boyfriend, Harry (Jack Nicholson); many lame apologies ensue. On hand too is Erica's sister, played by Frances McDormand (terribly wasted in this non-role), who bludgeons the audience with the movie's Big Concept in a dinner speech about how older women are simply too fascinating and accomplished to appeal to insecure older men.

But just when you begin to wonder how much of this you can take, the movie settles down and does something that romantic comedies never do: it puts the distractions and secondary characters aside and lets the two leads interact for a good, long stretch of time. When Harry suffers a minor heart attack that forces him to prolong his stay at Erica's house, Nicholson and Keaton are set loose to activate each other's charm, and they do so with the surety of old pros who have yet to lose their sparkle. Sure, Meyers' script makes fun of their aging bodies and difficulty at learning new tricks, but it also recognizes Harry and Erica as engaging, attractive people with much still to learn and much still to offer. They are, in fact, just plain cute when walking on the beach and sending instant messages to each other from opposite ends of the house.

But romance needs obstacles to overcome, and after Erica and Harry share their period of intimacy the movie begins to get a little messy again. Thankfully, it never reverts to the initial fever pitch of strained comedy, but the final act goes on and on and on in the same vein of Will They or Won't They? (which should be obvious to all). Compounding the difficulties stemming from Harry's fear of commitment is the ardent attachment of Erica's new beau, a handsome doctor twenty years her junior. (Keanu Reeves settles surprisingly well into this role, perhaps because his blazing beauty and boyish allure, still potent at 40, have rarely been put to such good use.) While, again, it's refreshing to see a movie acknowledge that love takes both time and effort, repeated scenes of Nicholson wandering around in a fog of uncertainty wear thin before the end.

"Something's Gotta Give" has its highs and lows, its touching moments and laugh-out-loud gags, its worthwhile sentiments and unnecessary discourses. Go for the pleasure of seeing Nicholson and Keaton connect, wrinkled skin and all (and for Reeves), but be warned that you gotta give a little to this film to get a little back.

Copyright © 2003 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.