Something's Gotta Give
So here is the tangled web we weave. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is dating Marin (Amanda Peet), someone way younger than he is. Staying at her mother’s home in the Hamptons, they believe they have the house to themselves, but alas, mom Erica (Diane Keaton) has come up to write a new play along with her sister (Frances McDormand). In the course of events, Harry gets a heart attack and is treated by Dr. Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Julian prescribes some home time for Harry, leaving him and Erica all alone. All the while, Julian begins to date Erica. After a week of solitude and Marin breaking it off with Harry, he and Erica hit it off. When he gets better, he goes back to his old tricks of dating, infuriating Erica, leading her to furiously write a new play based on him. As stress and pain get the better of Harry, only time will tell if and when he gets back together with Erica.

It’s the most clichéd trick of romantic comedies. Two people so wrong for each other go ahead and fall for each other anyway. The outcome was never in doubt here but the way they got there is a bit different. Keaton and Nicholson give dazzling performances, showing off their acting experience in a film that would leave much to be desired had it been trusted in any other couple. Writer and director Nancy Meyers flirts with disaster with all the extra people cast to complicate things for the two, but she manages to make it work with some good dialogue, wonderful laughs, and some good chemistry between the main couple. The one character I have a problem with is Julian, who makes some questionable decisions throughout the film that only serves to confound. Otherwise, it’s a romantic comedy that serves up its material magnificently on both fronts, romantically and comedically. 3 stars