At one point during How Do You Know, a therapist is asked for a piece of general, all-round piece of advice: “something that would help anyone, in any situation”. His response is thus: “Figure out what you want to do with your life, and learn how to ask the questions to get there.” Quite a solid mantra. Unfortunately director James L. Brooks didn’t take his own his own advice. Despite a great cast and some interesting moments, Brooks has no idea what he wants to do with his film or what questions to ask to get there. Hell, forget what questions, just look at the title. He doesn’t even know how to punctuate!
Reese Witherspoon plays Lisa, an Olympic softball player (seriously) who has just been cut from the team. Thrown into a state of confusion, this slightly aggressive woman seems to have been born from the mind of another of James L. Brook’s characters, the misanthrope Melvin Udall.
“Think of a man, then take away reason and accountability” and you have Lisa, a directionless drifter who inexplicably begins a relationship with the shallow and clueless Matty (Owen Wilson, with hair slightly more ridiculous than usual) because she claims to need a truly insensitive person to help her cope with this traumatic change in her life. It makes as much sense as it sounds. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd plays George, an emotional wreck of a businessman who is being indicted for unexplained financial fraud. Through a chance meeting and a silent dinner with Lisa, he falls in love with her, and proceeds to allow her to mess him around and lead him on for the entire film before an inspirational story about Play Doh causes True Love to conquer all. Again, seriously.
The cast are all engaging and invoke as much empathy and pathos as three completely fragmented characters can, while the script hints at intelligence and has shining moments of James L. Brooks’ trademark one-line brilliance. But this over-long, needlessly complicated and thematically confused (not exactly)rom-(not exactly)com flounders just as badly as its characters. The only question remaining is: how the hell did this cost $120 million to make?