How Do You Know (2010) Reviews

You would think with Brooks' writing and four likable leads this movie would be great... but it's not. Rudd is really the only likable character and you feel bad for him, not his character, Rudd himself.

There are some nice scenes but overall it was a tepid rom com.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a pretty nice cast, I thought I should give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. Not so long ago, I bumped into this list on the internet about the directors who should retire instead of further damaging their career. After watching this movie, it became pretty obvious to me that James L. Brooks would definitely represent a valid candidate for this list. I mean, the guy is not really productive, he made only 6 movies over 30 years, but when the end-result is so underwhelming, you really wonder if he should even bother. The sad thing is that there was indeed a nice cast (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson) and they did what they could with the material but the whole thing was just poorly written. Basically, there is a love triangle at the center but the characters were also involved in sports and corporate business but all those elements were really poorly developed. You even wonder why Jack Nicholson showed up at all (in his last part, hopefully, he won't end his career like this) for a character who was completely underwritten. To be honest, the whole thing did have some potential but it wasn't meant to be, I guess. To conclude, even though it wasn't awful, it was still a pretty weak romantic-comedy and I don't think it is really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

The movie has characters a little bit twisted which you would expect from a script from James L. Brooks, other than that, everything was quite predictable.Jack Nicholson gave a very "normal" performance and Owen as well. Paul and Reese made an effort, but wasn't that special either.

I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for Reese Witherspoon, so in the end I enjoyed it no matter what.
Wouldn't recommend though.

Despite the combination of some talented actors, "How Do You Know", while definitely watchable, cute, and containing all the necessary elements for a romantic comedy, is kind of forgettable once you're done and have walked away from it.

It's funny, engaging, decent enough overall, includes Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon, who have been in more than a few romantic comedies, and comedies, that have been good and memorable...and Kathryn Hahn does a good job with her role as well, but in the end, it's just...forgettable. I had to look the movie up, read the description, just to remember that yes, I have seen it, and own it even!

To Read My Review of "How Do You Know" - awesomebarnhart.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/how-do-you-know-2010/