How Do You Know, the new film from director James L. Brooks, attempts to re-capture the magic of his earlier gems like Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and Somethings Gotta Give and, sadly the results are a mixed bag. Brooks continues to utilize one of his favorite actors, Jack Nicholson, but his other cast includes a newer generation of marquee names including Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. While much of the excellent writing and character development which are hallmarks of Brooks work are intact, its perhaps both the modern world, and the way that his characters inhabit it, that ultimately define this film in less than satisfactory terms.
Lisa Jorgenson (Reese Witherspoon) finds herself in the films titular quandary, that of which beau to pick given the colorful choices of George (Paul Rudd) or Matty (Owen Wilson.) While the story is well mapped out, much of it seems engineered to best showcase the particular talents of the cast. For example, the crusty businessman father of George, played by Jack Nicholson, is really just a collection of short set-pieces for Jack to smirk and preen. Similarly, Owen Wilson seems to be playing to his usual strength of immature frat-boy, trapped in a grown-up body as Lisas current jock boyfriend.
You want to like this film. James L. Brooks has created some truly powerful and memorable films over the past 30 years, but this movie is a new type of Brooks film. It suffers from trying to connect with a new younger demographic, and ends up sacrificing some of the grown-up mature charm of his earlier work in the process.
