Movie Review: How Do You Know

On a whim at the library, as I was in the mood for some silly chick flicks, I decided to pick up a copy of How Do You Know. Overall, I’d say that the movie isn’t that bad, although it may have been in part due to the fact that I was probably more in the mood for something a lot more funny.

According to wikipedia, here’s the general plot: Softball player Lisa Jorgenson (Reese Witherspoon) is devastated when she is left off the Team USA roster. Unsure what to do next, Lisa begins dating Matty Reynolds (Owen Wilson), a pitcher for the Washington Nationals. She also receives an intriguing phone call from a young executive, George Madison (Paul Rudd), who was advised by a friend of Lisa's to give her a call. George calls out of politeness because he wants to explain that his relationship with his girlfriend has just become more serious. But life takes an abrupt turn for the worse for George when he suddenly finds himself the target of a federal criminal investigation for corporate malfeasance at a company run by his father, Charles Madison (Jack Nicholson). George is fired from his job and abandoned by the company, with the exception of his father and his pregnant secretary, Annie (Kathryn Hahn).

The extras reel, pretty much explained that the producer/director wanted to make a movie starring a female athlete – although there wasn’t really much screen time showing said softball. Matty is portrayed as the fun side of a narcissistic personality ie that he is trying to be a nice person even though he keeps seeing everything in relation to himself.

That being said, this is a classic tale of ‘nice guy wins’ and that ‘you can get the girl by being a good friend’, although  guys should take notes in that George makes does this the right way in that he is genuinely nice and he actually makes it clear that he has a romantic interest in Lisa – rather than the silly types who think that a girl should go out with him just because he’s being a good friend.