Running Time: 133 minutes
Rating: PG-13
It is extremely rare for romantic comedies to have serious dialogue about sex, aging, and life, in general. That’s why when two characters walk down a beach talking about these things while falling in love in this movie, I was excited to see such maturity. But then the film wouldn’t ever end. All this lofty talking and pontificating began to get bloated and crushed by the weight
Harry Langer (Jack Nicholson) is the consummate bachelor; a man in his 60s who has never dated any woman over the age of 30 so he won’t get bogged down in any seriousness. He is currently dating Marin (Amanda Peet) and in the first fifteen minutes of the movie we see what makes him irrestistable; he is fun and can offer young women anything. But their attempt to consummate their relationship at Marin’s mother’s beach house fails. Marin’s mother, Erica (Diane Keaton) and her aunt (Frances McDormand) walk in on Harry mistaking him for an intruder. After an eventful supper where everything is explained and everyone is attacked (McDormand has a blistering, hilarious monologue on gender differences), Marin and Harry’s second attempt fails because Harry has a heartattack.
At the hospital, Harry’s doctor, Julian (Keanu Reeves) obviously falls for Erica, a playwright he is very familiar with. And now the intricate dance begins. Harry is ordered to have bedrest at Erica’s beach house. Pretty soon, despite their initial dislike of one another, they are taking long walks on the beach and making pancakes at three in the morning, almost like two people falling in love. But there is the persistant Julian and his wanted to have something serious with the older Erica. Suddenly, Erica, a divorced playwright who hides herself behind turtlenecks and little tics finds herself in a love triangle with a younger man and a ladies’ man who has never even seen a woman his age naked.
With the possible exception of having a woman be at the center of a romantic triangle, the plot doesn’t exactly break any new ground. That’s not a problem in the first 60-90 minutes because the pacing is quick, the dialogue sharp, and the characters enjoyable. Keaton is spectacular as Erica, the aging playwright who’s afraid she’s lost any sense of sexuality she ever had. Once Harry and Erica have connected (after Marin’s broken up with Harry) there is a sense of joy for these two people who seem to have found what they never thought they’d have. But then the plot gets in the way and the movie doesn’t end where it naturally should. Suddenly, it seems that Harry’s professions of love for Erica were false and that leads us to Erica’s new play and other plot developments that seem painfully forced.
It is unclear whether the problem with Harry’s character is in acting or direction. Near the end when Harry is changed, did I not believe it because of Nicholson’s inability to convey a different character or because of first-time director Nancy Meyer’s constant emotional shifts between scenes? The abhorrent under-use of Frances McDormand as Erica’s abrasive, honest sister is also troubling. Introduced as a fascinating, funny character in the first 30 minutes, she appears only once in the rest of the movie.
Also irritating is the ignorance of what to do with Julian, the young, attractive doctor who clearly has eyes for Erica. Besides being one-dimensional (and no, this is not Reeves’ fault), he is so poorly used by Erica, who entertains his interest and then ditches him and then does the whole thing all over again, that we feel a great deal of sympathy for him. When a movie as enjoyable as this ends, it’s supposed to end on a purely happy note. I am not supposed to wonder what happen to the characters I liked when a romantic comedy ends. But I wanted to know what happened to the poorly used Julian and the way they settle Marin’s life is clumsy and surprisingly old-fashioned. It also doesn’t fit in with the entire mood of the film.
On a minor note, there’s also a little too much that’s implausible about the surroundings and plot developments. The playwright that takes elements from her life (without any changes) and turns them into a play, the play that only takes a few weeks to get from finished to being produced, and the wealth. These rich people exist in a wonderful world where bowls of fruit, vases of flowers, and platters of food manifest themselves without benefit of a single servant. I enjoy these people for an hour and a half; I tire of them after more than two hours.
And that is the final verdict on Something’s Gotta Give. If this movie kept its light, brisk feel over the course of shorter running time, I would have no problem recommending this. But when a movie like Love Actually is also out (with the same running time) and is much quicker, more meaningful, and enjoyable, then something’s gotta give.