Romantic comedies are very rarely my thing. I often try to avoid them like the plague. There are, of course, some exceptions to the rule. If it’s a Rated-R raunchy romantic comedy like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, There’s Something About Mary, etc. I’m in. But those movies have become their brand. Before 1997, you didn’t see movies like this made. I’m talking about the PG or PG-13 romantic comedies. I like Notting Hill, Garden State, and, of course, Groundhog Day. And I think movies like My Best Friend’s Wedding, Hitch, High Fidelity, etc. are serviceable. With Something’s Gotta Give, the film sought me out rather than vice versa. Somehow when I clicked the like button on Netflix, a list of other movies came up, and I guess I clicked on the picture of the film and added it to my list. I don’t remember doing this. So when it arrived and I ripped open the envelope with excitement, a “What the f*** is this?” comment and a look of befuddlement was an understatement. So there it sat next to my television for a couple of weeks. In the back of my mind, I knew I would give it a chance. It did earn high marks on Rotten Tomatoes, and it did have a star-studded cast. It would have a short rope, but it would get a chance. I’m glad I did. It was far from a great movie, but, despite some severe flaws, it was entertaining enough to recommend a watch. With that said, this movie is a one-and-done for me. I won’t ever watch it again. One of the reasons I do this blog is so that I can remember the movies I watch. It is much easier to read a five-minute summary.
So this movie is chock-full of spoilers. I’m not even going to list where they start and end. They will be all over. So please read the review only after you’ve seen the movie (or before if you don’t mind me ruining all of the surprises for you), but it’s a movie I will critique pretty heavily, and, to do so, the spoilers need to be included. So I thought that this movie might have been based on a book. It was not. Something’s Gotta Give was just over two hours long. More time was needed to tell the story that it wanted to say wholeheartedly, but those involved knew that with each passing minute, potential viewers would think it was too long. So director Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, What Women Want), who also did the screenplay, played with a double-edge sword. There was much more of a back story that needed to make these characters more believable through their actions, but not enough time to show that. So instead, we were forced to rely on word of mouth. For me, it didn’t work. It made the movie less enjoyable than it could have been. But it also left out some more dramatic components that could have otherwise brought the end product down. For example, Harry (Jack Nicholson – The Shining, The Departed) is a womanizer who specializes in dating only women in their late 20’s/early 30’s. He says he’s an expert because he’s been doing it for 40 years. But there are no scenes where we see him doing that. Based on the first 10-15 minutes of the movie, we are to assume he is a complete love-them-and-leave-them douche bag.
I say that because of his opening voice-over at the start of the film and also because he’s Jack Nicholson, and, frankly, that’s one of the first things many of us associate with Nicholson’s real-life persona. However, for the most part, this is far from the case. Our tune on him changes throughout the movie. Whether it is all believable or not is up to interpretation and personal viewpoints on life’s romantic relationships. In some ways, Nicholson is the perfect choice for this character. And in some ways, he is the worst choice for this character. I will say this. He and Diane Keaton (Annie Hall, Marvin’s Room) brought their best efforts to this movie, but they were not a romantic match (at least in my opinion). But again, it might just be not being able to see past Nicholson portraying this character. As great as this character is, it is still Jack Nicholson at the end of the day. He is the womanizer of all womanizers). It was tough for me to believe that he would give up chasing the skirts of 20 and 30-year-olds to settle into old age with Erica (Keaton).
In this movie, Harry is dating 30-year-old Marin (Amanda Peet – Identity, 2012) at the film’s start. She’s a beautiful, down-to-earth woman who has her life put together…yet she’s dating a 63-year-old man who has a history of being a serial dater? Sure, Harry s charming. He is. He’s kind, funny, generous, and engaged. But can she rely on him to be there for her in the long run? His long history doesn’t just suggest no. It screams it. And though it is not explicitly stated, it appears that Marin is seeking a long-term relationship that will hopefully lead to marriage. But that doesn’t seem to be what interests him. Maybe she’s more than a quick fling. But he knows that one of them will grow disinterested in the other, which will be perfectly okay with Harry. We aren’t sure how long they’ve been together, but they have yet to have sex when she brings him to his mother’s beach house. And while sex is undoubtedly on his mind, he’s not pushing things. Instead, he respects her and wants to ensure she’s comfortable.
From the outgo, we see that Harry does have quite a few redeemable characteristics. Something else about the way Nicholson portrayed Harry is that Harry never really gets angry or manipulative. We can’t help but associate Harry with some of the other notorious characters that Nicholson has portrayed. This is one of his most genial roles. He’s a likable guy, and we cheer for him. Now we also cheer for all the other significant characters in the film, but we are reasonably sure that not all of them will end up happy. Though this is a light-hearted romantic comedy, it’s not a cartoon. There are still interesting characters involved that help piques our interest. Harry is that number one character. Nicholson knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of Harry. It is just another film showing his incredible range as an actor. He’s not my favorite. He’s never been in my top 10, nor will he ever be, but he’s still very good. Like most great actors, he picks some terrible roles. But the great ones follow up sub-par efforts with tremendous performances. Nicholson has 12 Oscar nominations for acting (including eight as Leading Actor) and three wins over a 30+ range period. Without even looking at his filmography, it is safe to say that he followed up at least most of his less than stellar films with fantastic performances.
As mentioned in the first paragraph, the cast was dynamite. I’m not sure it was the best cast for the roles of the film, but you can’t do much better in getting a talented group of people to make a movie. I’ll try to get into that now. Harry is dating Marin, and Marin is a knockout. Harry seems to be able to get a 30-year-old woman whenever he wants. And the relationships with them, at least if they are similar to those he has with Marin (which we are led to believe), seem genuine. So why would he change this lifestyle to date a fellow 60-year-old? The attempt to answer this question is the point of this film. Yet it felt unsuccessful. Sure, Erica (a playwright) is as successful in her career as Harry is in his. That is an admirable quality. Sure she can meet his wit and intellect, which is more challenging for a person half your age to do. With most things being equal, you will have more in common with someone your age than someone who is more than 30 years your junior. But that also isn’t enough. Maybe I am just unable to see past the skin-deep attraction, but it seems like a severe life change that Harry isn’t having a super hard time dealing with. Yes, he has reoccurring health issues in this movie, which allow him to see life in a slightly different light, but even that isn’t enough. He still has a hot, young woman who loves him and wants to care for him. Does he begin wondering when does that change for him, and he won’t be able to attract 30-year-olds? 70? 75? 80? I don’t feel like that is a consideration that goes through his mind.
Enter Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix), who doesn’t seem to help the movie process. Reeves is great in this film as a young doctor who becomes Harry’s doctor when he is first rushed to the hospital following a heart scare. He knows of Erica. He’s read all of her plays. And almost instantly, he seems to fall for her, even though she is 20+ years older than him. I am not saying that romantic relationships between people of different generations don’t work, but they are the exception and not the norm. There might not be a more universal set of wisecracking jokes when you see an older man romantically involved with a much younger woman. The men don’t like it because the guy is getting some from someone who is probably much hotter than who they are with. The women don’t like it because they are constantly worried that their man will leave them for a much younger and more beautiful woman. I think there are even more awkward eyeballs when the situation is reversed. Julian (Reeves) has a ton going for him, most notably that he is a young, gifted, kind DOCTOR. It just isn’t believable that he be as distraught as he is when Erica stands him up for dinner or that he’s willing to forgive her repeatedly.
So this tries to be a coming-of-age story with Harry telling Erica that he’s fallen in love for the first time in his life. I didn’t buy it. Again, perhaps this had to do with Nicholson playing a real-life version of himself. Maybe that’s not fair, but it is what it is. So I tried to picture real-life Diane Keaton with real-life Jack Nicholson, real-life Diane Keaton with real-life Keanu Reeves, or real-life Amanda Peet with real-life Jack Nicholson. It didn’t work for me, so the movie ultimately didn’t work for me. Nevertheless, it was highly entertaining and a decent two hours spent. I loved the cast. I didn’t feel like they were all the correct characters for their roles.
Plot 9/10
Character Development 7.5/10
Character Chemistry 7/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Sound 7/10
Hook and Reel 9.5/10 (entertaining film)
Universal Relevance 9/10 (most relationship films are going to rank on the higher end when it comes to universal relevance)
82%
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