'He's Just Not That Into You': Desperate Dating Life Advice?

By Samantha Payne
Rotunda ReporterBased on the self-help book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, "He's Just Not That Into You" has left many people feeling a bit more at ease with the wonderful world of relationships, right? To be completely honest, this film might have done the opposite. Although the movie features an array of familiar actors, perhaps there were too many of them to keep up. To break it down, let's give a brief synopsis of the storyline.

Desperate to fall in love, Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), who is perhaps the most interesting character, goes on a date with Conor (Kevin Connolly). After blowing off Gigi, Conor is desperate to win the affection of Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Since Conor is in real estate, he buys advertising space in a local paper from Mary (Drew Barrymore), who is friends with Anna. Anna, who is an aspiring singer in the film, seeks love from Ben (Bradley Cooper). The only problem is that Ben is married to (Janine) Jennifer Connelly, who works with Gigi. Coincidently (not really), Ben is friends with Neil (Ben Affleck). Neil has been in a seven-year relationship with Beth (Jennifer Aniston), and refuses to make a commitment and marry her. Beth has to fit in here some how right? Well, she also works with Gigi and Janine. During the movie, Gigi meets Alex (Justin Long), who is friends with Conor. Let us pause for a short intermission after that mouth full.
And we're back. Basically this movie is just a prequel to the unsatisfying and annoying game of dating that many young adults have to face. Junior Krista Oglesby said, "I think this movie was realistic. It might have been exaggerated, but it dealt with real issues that people feel when they are out 'playing the field'."

"I think girls aren't as obsessive as the movie portrays them to be, but I thought it had a great plot line," said freshman Lauren Portlock. Although it is enriched with humorous situations and insights, this movie has a little too much going on. Perhaps the most annoying part of the film was the way it was broken up into chapters to resemble the layout of the book. After a chapter title like "If He's Not Calling You..." is revealed, the film presents random pedestrians on the street talking about their outlook on relationships. Although some of the skits are comical, they definitely interrupt the storyline.

We should go back to Goodwin's character for a moment. The "Big Love" actress is the backbone of this movie. Without her, this movie would not have had much charm at all. Her character presents the cliché actions of a woman desperate to have a relationship by literally sitting and staring at the phone for an insane amount of time. However, her character brings up some great points about how vague the end-of-a-date conversation can be. Do you call him, or does he call you? When he says he'll call and then doesn't, do you keep calling him? There seems to be an endless circle of questions. "In my experience, if a guy says he is going to call and he doesn't, then I wouldn't keep calling him. But you can never be sure because there are so many mixed signals. This movie really points that out," said senior Ashley Garner.

So what can this movie say about our young female college students who are desperate to find love? Apparently that if a guy wants to go out with you, he will "make it happen." For all of those women out there who are reading this and have not gotten a call back from their date last week, I'm sorry to squash your hopes and dreams. But don't worry; there are still people out there who can be the "exception to the rule," as the movie states. Junior Kristen Gaines says, "I thought the movie was pretty realistic. The characters were met with real-life situations and reacted in the way I would predict I would react in the same situations. In a college setting though, none of us are working professionals like the characters in the movie, so even if we can't relate we can get a feel for what we are in for."

All in all, this movie was not a complete bust. There are some comical highs and then a few lulls. "It was definitely slow through the middle of the movie. Even though I liked the end, I do not think it's a movie I would actively recommend to my friends to watch. There wasn't enough intrigue throughout the entire movie," said Oglesby. This movie didn't flop, but it didn't completely flip. It's a typical chick flick, aimed at women of any age who want insight to their dating problems. The movie was a box office success, raking in almost $28 million dollars in the first weekend. Farmville seemed to enjoy it as well, since Sunchase Cinema sold almost 250 tickets the first night (which in Farmville is a success).