R E V I E W S
Someone Like You (2001)
Starring: Ashley
Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman, Ellen Barkin, Marisa Tomei Studio: 20th Century Fox Review Posted: 3.27.01 Rating: 4/10
By Stephen.
"A hint at mad cow disease affecting Hollywood"
I can't say what parts the movie did and did not adapt from Laura Zigman's book, entitled Animal Husbandry. Personally, I couldn't care less. It's because Someone Like You doesn't feel like a movie, but a movie-of-the-week loosely cut into a feature from six or seven segments. Throughout the movie there are title cards that hint, or tell, in what stage the main character or the movie is in. Several were actually kind of interesting, but the whole notion of title cards within this movie made it feel everything but a movie.
Someone Like You is the story of Jane Goodale (Ashley Judd), a TV show booker. She falls for Eddie (Greg Kinnear), who recently joined the show from another station. Jane's colleague, Ray (Hugh Jackman), who's a macho man for all seasons, is the type of character to fall in love with in the very end. Which brings me to the matter of predictability. It's easy to figure out what happens in the end. Even the trailer spoiled much of the movie. So what is Someone Like You about? As in Jane's point of view, it's the study of male behavior. For example, men do not favor the same "cow" (woman) for a long period of time (a personality too closely resembled by Ray). The thing to prove Jane's point is the breakup between her and Eddie. The rest you can figure out yourself, or not.
The plot didn't make sense as a whole. All sort of chunks of scenes and montages tried to convey it. Yet, everything seemed loose. It's most evident in the scene that cuts from Jane and Eddie's first and real date to a scene of the ultimate breakup. It will make more sense when you see it. Also, most of the characters in Someone Like You are actually kind of contrite and redundant. Liz (Maris Tomei), Jane's best friend, is the usual "oh my god" type of gal. Eddie and the TV show host Diane (Ellen Barkin) also don't feel real enough. Judging by the overall story and views expressed, Someone Like You feels too much like fiction instead of attempted drama.
The (attempted) drama didn't work because the romance didn't live up to the potential it could've had. Second, there wasn't much drama to anything, except the falling in love, breaking up, and the occasional weeping. Performances actually faired well considering the low amount of character exposition. Director Tony Goldwyn couldn't do much to save the amount of plot holes and rapid scene conjunctions. The writing by Elizabeth Chandler seemed limited in potential.
Overall, Someone Like You is the type of romantic drama to throw in the middle of Spring, hoping it will interest a target audience of mostly women who can relate and interpret the main character's views on male behavior. The scant runtime of 90 minutes actually felt longer, which is most likely due to slow pacing. If you're bored and want to be bored slightly stronger, then you've got yourself a winner. If you're looking for a good time with your date, you're best off watching Heartbreakers (again).
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