Mostly a bust

Years ago, a friend of mine had a particularly cruel boyfriend. We tried to be nice about it, but eventually there was an intervention, including the gifting of a revolutionary little book called He’s Just Not That Into You. It wasn’t rocket science, but damn, the book made sense. And the best part: It was empowering.

The book told all us women what we were afraid to hear—that if a guy isn’t treating you the way you deserve, he (repeat after me) is just not that into you—so move onto someone who is!

Upon entering the theater this past weekend, I had high hopes for the movie of the same name. Then about 20 minutes in, I was ready to throw in the towel. The film’s writers (Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, who also penned the hopelessly cute Never Been Kissed) apparently missed the point and made the main character, the single Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), psycho. Even her friends roll their eyes and beg her, “Please, do not cyberstalk him.” She is the girl who gives girls a bad name.

And then there’s Anna (Scarlett Johansson), the other “bad girl,” who vies for the attention of a married man. I’d like to meet her friend (Drew Barrymore), who eggs her on, saying “you never know, he could leave his wife for you,” and slap her. Or just bypass her and slap the writers for giving into stereotypes rather than exploring real women and real relationships.

As much as I hated the movie’s message, it manages to be cute and kind of funny and therefore not a total bust.