He's Just Not That into You (film)

He's Just Not That into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on the 2004 self-help book of the same name by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which in turn was inspired by a line of dialogue in Sex and the City. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Justin Long. The movie is set in Baltimore, and follows the story of nine people and their varying romantic problems. Less of an ensemble comedy than a collection of interwoven stories, each of the characters has some degree of relationship with one or two others whether a crush, a date or a full-blown affair. Across the entire cast, Goodwin's character Gigi could be seen as the common thread. She is followed more closely than the other eight people and has a more developed storyline because she consistently misreads all of her romantic partners behaviors. She meets Alex, played by Long, who helps her to interpret signs given to her by her dates.

The film was produced by New Line Cinema and Flower Films, the production company owned by Drew Barrymore, who served as an executive producer. The film grossed over $181 million at the worldwide box office.

Gigi and Alex
In Baltimore, Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) repeatedly misreads the romantic interest of her dates.

Following a tepid date with real estate agent Conor Barry (Kevin Connolly), Gigi is befriended by bar owner Alex (Justin Long), who suggests she misinterprets romantic signals. As their friendship continues, Gigi interprets his helpfulness as a sign he is attracted to her, but Alex rebuffs her, chastising her for ignoring his advice.

As Gigi moves on from Alex, he begins to fall for her. After leaving several unanswered messages, Alex arrives at Gigi's apartment and declares his love, and they kiss.

Janine, Ben, and Anna
Gigi's friend and co-worker, Janine Gunders (Jennifer Connelly) obsesses over home renovations while her husband Ben (Bradley Cooper) becomes attracted to Anna Marks (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga instructor and aspiring singer. Ben and Anna pursue a flirtatious friendship under the pretence of him helping her establish a singing career. Ben reveals that he only married Janine after she delivered an ultimatum, saying that they should marry or break up. Ben agrees to only be friends with Anna, but she continues her pursuit until they sleep together.

Finding cigarette butts hidden in the back yard, Janine accuses Ben of smoking again, citing her father's death from lung cancer. Ben blames the workmen at their house. During a tense home improvement shopping trip, Ben confesses his infidelity. Devastated, Janine blames herself and wants to save their marriage; Ben seems less enthused.

While Anna and Ben have a tryst in his office, Janine arrives hoping to spice up their marriage. Forced to hide in a closet and listen as Ben and Janine have sex, Anna afterward leaves in disgust, ending her relationship with Ben. As Janine tidies up Ben's clothes at home, she discovers a pack of cigarettes and explodes in anger. When Ben returns home, Janine is gone, leaving his clothes folded on the staircase with a carton of cigarettes and a note asking for a divorce. Janine moves into an apartment to restart her life, and Anna is seen performing at an upscale nightclub. Alone, Ben buys beer at the same supermarket where he met Anna.

Conor, Anna, and Mary
Anna enjoys a close friendship with Alex's friend, Conor. Though Anna wants a casual relationship, Conor misinterprets her playful affection as romantic interest.

Anna's friend, Mary Harris (Drew Barrymore), works in advertising sales for a local gay newspaper and helps Conor promote his real estate business. Like Gigi, she meets many men, mostly online, but despite constantly monitoring her emails, pager, phone, and Myspace messages, her dates go nowhere.

While Conor attempts to cultivate a gay clientele, two gay men explain how he is going wrong with Anna. Taking their advice, Conor declares his love to Anna. Vulnerable after falling out with Ben, Anna agrees to a more serious relationship. When Conor later proposes buying a house and moving in together, Anna admits she does not want to and they return to being just friends.

Mary later runs into Conor, recognizing him from his ad photo and having only spoken to him over the phone. They hit it off, and start dating.

Beth and Neil
Gigi's co-worker, Beth Murphy (Jennifer Aniston), lives with her boyfriend Neil (Ben Affleck), a friend of Ben's. After seven years together, Beth wants to be wed but Neil opposes marriage. Gigi announces she will no longer misinterpret vague gestures and comments, and says that men who delay marrying likely never intend to. This spurs Beth to confront Neil, who remains adamant that he never wants to marry, and she breaks up with him.

Preparations for her younger sister's wedding reopen the issue after Beth hears back-handed comments from various family members. During the reception, her father Rod suffers a heart attack. Beth cares for him as he recuperates at home while her sisters wallow and their husbands remain glued to the television with constant takeout food. Beth's patience wanes as the household grows more dysfunctional, but Neil arrives with groceries and helps with chores. They reconcile, with Beth assuring Neil that she wants him back without being married. Neil later proposes, and they wed aboard his sailboat.

Production
Baltimore, Maryland, was selected for the setting of He's Just Not That into You as an alternative to the common New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles settings of romantic comedies. In addition, screenwriter Marc Silverstein had lived in the city for several years prior to attending college. Exterior shots were filmed in the city for two weeks during November 2007. Interior scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.

The film was released on February 6, 2009.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 5.12/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite the best efforts of a talented cast, He's Just Not That into You devotes too little time to each of its protagonists, thus reducing them to stereotypes." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 32 reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B+ on scale of A to F.

John Anderson of Variety magazine wrote: "No one has anything to distract them from the minutiae of their love lives, which they proceed to incinerate through overanalysis. It's a moral fable, maybe, if you make half a million a year."

Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone wrote: "Here’s a true S&M date movie. Only sadistic men and masochistic women could love it."

Box office
In its opening weekend, the movie made $27.8 million, topping the box office. Its total US gross amounted to $93,953,653 while internationally it grossed $84.4 million bringing the worldwide gross to $178.4 million against a $40 million budget.

Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released on June 2, 2009. The Blu-ray version of the release includes a digital copy. It has grossed $26,350,178 in US DVD sales. The film was sold to E! for 4% of the film's domestic box office (~$3.6 million) for television broadcast after the opportunity passed for the USA Network and HBO to pick it up.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album was released on March 10, 2009 by New Line Records.


 * 1) "I'd Like To" – Corinne Bailey Rae (4:06)
 * 2) "I'm Amazed" – My Morning Jacket (4:34)
 * 3) "Don't You Want Me" – The Human League (3:57)
 * 4) "Supernatural Superserious" – R.E.M. (3:24)
 * 5) "Madly" – Tristan Prettyman (3:18)
 * 6) "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – Talking Heads (4:55)
 * 7) "By Your Side" – The Black Crowes (4:29)
 * 8) "Buscando Olvidar" – Alfred Gómez Jr. (3:48)
 * 9) "I Must Be High" – Wilco (2:59)
 * 10) "You Make It Real" – James Morrison (3:32)
 * 11) "If I Never See Your Face Again" – Maroon 5 (3:19)
 * 12) "Can't Hardly Wait" – The Replacements (3:04)
 * 13) "Fruit Machine" – The Ting Tings (2:53)
 * 14) "Smile" – Lily Allen (3:15)
 * 15) "Somewhere Only We Know" – Keane (3:57)
 * 16) "Love, Save the Empty" – Erin McCarley (3:17)
 * 17) "Friday I'm in Love" – The Cure (3:35)
 * 18) "Last Goodbye" – Scarlett Johansson (2:32)
 * 19) "He's Into Me" – Cliff Eidelman (2:24)


 * Notes
 * Although Scarlett Johansson is seen singing in her last scene of the film, the song she performs is not actually heard.
 * Eidelman's score cue is not included on the physical song CD; it is only part of its download release.

Score
The score for He's Just Not That into You was composed by Cliff Eidelman, who recorded his score with an 80-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring Stage. New Line Records released a score album.


 * 1) "Prologue/The Signs" – 2:39
 * 2) "Mixed Messages" – 0:57
 * 3) "This Other Woman" – 1:19
 * 4) "Not to Be Trusted" – 1:55
 * 5) "No Exceptions" – 2:05
 * 6) "Sailing" – 1:27
 * 7) "The Love of Your Life" – 1:16
 * 8) "Are You Going to Marry Me" – 1:32
 * 9) "Mary at the Blade" – 0:42
 * 10) "The Pool" – 1:12
 * 11) "He's Into Me" – 2:24
 * 12) "You Don't Fall in Love That Way" – 2:07
 * 13) "Tables Turn on Alex" – 0:56
 * 14) "Janine Revealed" – 2:43
 * 15) "Beth's New Day" – 1:38
 * 16) "Anna's Truth" – 0:54
 * 17) "Will You Marry Me" – 3:07
 * 18) "End Credit Suite" – 3:03