How Do You Know has been a long time coming. Rom-com heavyweight, James L. Brooks, has been piecing together his tale of the complicated love lives of female athletes since 2005. Coming off the box office disaster that was Spanglish
(which I actually liked quite a bit), I can understand why he wanted to take his time. Somehwere in the process of making this film, Brooks became intrigued with the idea of corporate crime. Thinking that combining the story of an ex-softball star with that of a corporate exec in the midst of a scandal would be a great idea, Brooks jammed the two ideas together to make an awkward fit. He's just lucky he's got the always likable Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd to save his sinking ship with their typically honest performances.Shot here in the good ol' Nation's Capital(they forgot to ask me for a cameo), Witherspoon and her perky chin star as Lisa Jorgensen, a star pro softball player livin' life exactly how she's always wanted. That is until she's forced into a premature retirement when she's cut from the team, leaving her life in a total lurch. Feeling awful for herself and completely unworthy of love, she easily falls victim to the charms of insensitive, womanizing Washington Nationals superstar, Matty(Owen Wilson). Just as her life is at her lowest ebb, Lisa meets George(Rudd), a corporate exec on the wrong end of a federal investigation ensnaring both he and his stressed out Dad(Jack Nicholson). His life is so bad it makes hers look like rainbows and lollipops. The two share an awkward, silent dinner that strangely puts life into complete perspective....for one of them.
It was way back in 1998 when Paul Rudd and a then brunette Reese Witherspoon last teamed up on the mostly forgettable teen comedy, Overnight Delivery. Just like back then, the charms of these two far exceed the limitations of the script. Their chemistry together is immediate and overpowering, I wanted desperately for them to find eachother, even as they recited mostly warmed over fortune cookie dialogue. Rudd, in particular, has the unassuming ladies' man role down pat. Wilson is an actor I like in measured doses, and Brooks gives us just enough of the funnyman to be effective. He's got the vapid athlete routine nailed. Nicholson is completely wasted here. I kept waiting for him to have a scene that warranted his presence, but it never came. Kathryn Hahn steals every scene as George's pregnant, violently loyal assistant.
Let's face it, James Brooks will never make another Broadcast News
, but he doesn't have to in order for his films to be entertaining. He can just cast Witherspoon and Rudd in everything and the problem is solved. A worthy date flick, but nothing more.
