Something's Gotta Give

This movie took me by surprise, I wasn't sure if I could handle watching old actors getting it on but this movie turned out to be a great romantic comedy. Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton always give their 100% best in their performances, they did a great job in their roles. It would have been nice to see more input from Frances McDormand and Keanu Reeves, but otherwise I really enjoyed the movie.

I generally dislike Jack Nicholson, although I certainly think he is a very talented and gifted actor... so I watched this movie somewhat reluctantly on the recommendation of a friend. To my surprise, I liked it. I too am a woman "of a certain age" and I found myself responding to this movie very much in the context of a woman Diane Keaton's age. I laughed to tears over her creativity surge-- she very accurately portrayed that kind of grief over a relationship lost... amazing! I must say however, that if I were in a position to choose between Keannu Reeves and Jack Nicholson.. well there's no decision to make--the young stud muffin would win in a heartbeat!...(although Jack really was quite charming once he got over being such a putz).. Anyway.. a fun movie that is well done...

It's an enjoyable story with interesting characters who were all spoiled by over-acting. And then there's the times where it's got more cheese than Switzerland.

Romance among the AARP set in a movie is never an easy proposition, pardon the pun. The participants have to be sexy enough that the younger people in the audience don't get all grossed out ("Gramma and Granpa are KISSING!!! With tongue!!!!"), but not too sexy. The audience wants to be swept off its feet, but it doesn't want anything that's overly salacious.

For the most part, writer-director Nancy Meyers succeeds here. Diane Keaton plays Erica Barry, a neurotic, highly successful playwright. Jack Nicholson plays himself. Okay, technically he plays 63-year-old Harry Sanborn, owner of a hip-hop record label and chronic womanizer.

One of the funniest scenes in the movie comes right near the beginning. Harry's with his new squeeze Marin (Amanda Peet), at Marin's mom's house. There's Harry, in his boxers and a t-shirt, putting wine in the 'fridge, when Marin's mom - you guessed it, Erica - unexpectedly comes home. Naturally, she thinks he's an intruder and calls 911. I mean, wouldn't you? It takes some explaining, but soon the misunderstanding is cleared up and our combatants (oops, participants) can get on with the romancin'.

The thrust of the story (oops, another pun) is that while fooling around with Marin upstairs, Harry suffers a heart attack. At the hospital, Dr. Mercer (an interestingly cast Keanu Reeves) admonishes the unrepentant Harry for overexerting himself and tells him not to travel for a little while. Yup, you guessed it, that means he has to bunk with Erica. And our romance is thus set up.

The good news is that pairing Keaton and Nicholson (who appeared together in 1982's Reds) was a great, great idea. Keaton basically plays a grown-up Annie Hall, and she manages to look sexy and daffy at the same time. Nicholson, for all his bluster and creakiness, still has the panache that has served him so well for the past forty years or so.

The trouble is that after their relationship is consummated, the two leads behave like seventh graders. Now, no offense to you seventh graders out there, but you do have a tendency to get melodramatic. Admit it. In this movie, Erica spends - no exaggeration here - a good ten minutes sobbing. And sobbing. And sobbing. Everywhere and anywhere. Yikes and double yikes. For his part, Harry broods like no one's ever brooded before, like he's up for an Olympic medal in the event of Feeling Bummed Out. After a while, you wish these two crazy kids would just get over it. Call her! Call him! Do something!

To make matters worse for the relationship, Erica writes a play based on her experiences with Harry, complete with him dancing drunkenly in a hospital gown. Does this lady play hardball, or what?

Granted, the storyline is predictable, but the two leads are wonderful, and very well cast. Meyers wrote the script with Keaton and Nicholson in mind specifically, the decision was a wise one.

Something's Gotta Give has a funny beginning and a sweet ending, but the middle suffers from an unfortunate lag.

I kept thinking, while watching this movie, "I wish I could write a screenplay as good as this." Jack was Impeccable Jack. Diane was delightful and sexy and a wonderful role model for older women. Keanu showed more range than people give him credit for, and did an excellent job playing the role he was cast as - a supporting character, who is not supposed to outshine the lead roles, but rather enhance them (which he did). I was very pleased with this movie! It did have "several endings" which, actually, didn't detract but instead made me think, "Well, that's closer to the reality of what might happen," instead of being annoyed. As Jack's character says, "Finally, closure," and I was happy. It was a good movie and I liked it quite a lot. It'll be on my mind and in my thoughts for a while, which is the sign of an impactful movie.