He's Just Not That into You Information

He's Just Not That Into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on the 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, Sasha Alexander, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long. He's Just Not That Into You was produced by Drew Barrymore's production company, Flower Films, with Barrymore serving as an executive producer. Grossing just under $180 million at the worldwide box office, the film became a success despite being met with mixed critical response.

Plot

Nine people in Baltimore deal with their respective romantic problems, usually thwarted by the differing ideals and desires of their chosen partner. At the center of this is Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), a young woman who repeatedly misinterprets the behavior of her romantic partners.

Gigi and Alex

Gigi is a single woman who repeatedly misreads mundane actions and comments from her dates as indications they are romantically interested in her. She then frets when the guy doesn't call.

In attempting to meet Conor at a bar, she befriends the bar owner Alex (Justin Long) who reveals the strategies men use to avoid a woman. He explains that if a man is interested in a woman, he will overcome any obstacles to ensure they date again, and that Gigi has been misinterpreting and obsessing over imagined "signs" she receives from men. This friendship continues and Gigi interprets his eagerness to always assist, such as taking Gigi's call while he is on a date, as a sign that he is interested in her. She eventually makes a move but Alex claims he is not interested in her romantically.

Gigi has moved on from Alex, no longer desperately trying to construct evidence the man is interested in her. However, in a role reversal, Alex began mooning over Gigi. After leaving several unanswered messages Alex arrives at Gigi's apartment to declare his love. They kiss and start dating.

Janine, Ben, and Anna

Gigi's friend and co-worker Janine (Jennifer Connelly) is having difficulties in her marriage to Ben (Bradley Cooper). As Janine obsesses on their home renovations, Ben becomes attracted to Anna (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga instructor and aspiring singer, and the feeling is mutual. Ben and Anna pursue a flirtatious friendship under the pretense of him helping her establish a singing career. Ben reveals to Anna that Janine coerced him into marriage by threatening to leave if he didn't propose.

Fervently anti-smoking (due to her father's death from lung cancer), Janine pointedly asks Ben if he has been smoking, and later is perturbed to find cigarette butts hidden in the back yard of the house. Ben insists they are not his. Their contractor Javier, aggressively interrogated by Janine, says none of his workers smoke at the house. During a tense shopping trip to select flooring, Ben reveals to Janine that he has cheated on her. Janine is devastated but rationalizes Ben's behavior, blaming herself for being too cold in the relationship, and declares she wants to save their marriage.

After a positive meeting about her singing career, Anna begins to have sex with Ben in his office. They are interrupted by Janine who, hoping to spice up their marriage, has arrived unexpectedly. Anna hides in a closet and Ben attempts to send Janine away. But she makes a heartfelt plea to save their marriage, and there are indications she succeeds in seducing him. After Janine leaves Anna angrily departs vowing to cut ties with Ben. As Janine tidies up Ben's clothes back at their newly completed house, fully satisfied to make it a home, she discovers a fresh pack of cigarettes in a pocket. She explodes in anger. When Ben arrives home he finds his clothes neatly folded with a whole carton of cigarettes and a note attached from Janine asking for a divorce. Janine moves into a new apartment by herself to start a new life. Anna is later seen performing at an upscale nightclub. Ben is alone, purchasing the same beer at the same supermarket where he met Anna.

Conor, Anna, and Mary

Ben's lover Anna enjoys a close friendship with Alex's friend, real estate agent, Conor (Kevin Connolly). He is romantically interested in her, while Anna is only interested in a casual relationship with Conor. Conor misinterprets her hugs and cute nicknames for potential romantic interest.

Anna's friend, Mary (Drew Barrymore) is in ad sales for a local newspaper. She helps Conor promote his real estate business in a series of print ads. Like Gigi, she meets many men (mostly online), but despite constantly monitoring emails, pager, phone, and Myspace messages, the "meetings" go nowhere.

While Conor attempts to cultivate a gay clientele, two gay men tell him how he is going wrong with Anna. Taking their advice, Conor decides to declare his love to Anna. Vulnerable after falling out with Ben, Anna agrees to start a serious relationship with him. When Conor proposes buying a house and moving in together, Anna admits she doesn't want to, and they break up.

Mary later runs into Conor, recognizing him from his ad photo, and introduces herself, since they have only spoken over the phone. They hit it off, and start dating.

Beth and Neil

Gigi's other co-worker, Beth (Jennifer Aniston), is living with her boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), who is also friends with Ben. After seven years together, Beth wants to get married, but Neil does not believe in marriage. With Gigi's newfound pragmatic stance on relationships after advice from Alex, she announces that she will no longer misinterpret vague gestures from men as more than they really are. This spurs Beth to confront Neil about their relationship. When he still does not want to get married, she breaks up with him.

Later, the fraught preparations for her younger sister Paige's (Brooke Bloom) wedding bring the issue into sharper focus to Beth. During the reception, her father (Kris Kristofferson) suffers a heart attack. Beth looks after him as he recuperates while her sisters sit moping and their husbands remain glued to the television. As the household falls into chaos, Neil arrives with groceries and has tidied the kitchen. The two reconcile, with Beth saying that Neil is more of a husband to her than her sisters' spouses are to them, and she will not insist they be married. Neil later proposes to her, and they marry in an intimate ceremony aboard his sailboat.

Cast

• Ben Affleck as Neil Jones
• Jennifer Aniston as Beth Murphy
• Drew Barrymore as Mary Harris
• Jennifer Connelly as Janine Gunders
• Kevin Connolly as Conor Barry
• Bradley Cooper as Ben Gunders
• Ginnifer Goodwin as Gigi Phillips
• Scarlett Johansson as Anna Marks
• Justin Long as Alex
• Kris Kristofferson as Rod Murphy
• Hedy Burress as Laura
• Busy Phillips as Kelli Ann
• Leonardo Nam as Joshua Nguyen
• Rod Keller as Bruce
• Wilson Cruz as Nathan
• Morgan Lily as little girl
• Natasha Leggero as Amber Gnech
• Greg Behrendt as Priest
• Sasha Alexander as Catharine
• Corey Pearson as Jude
• Frances Callier
• Angela V. Shelton
• Bill Brochtrup as Larry
• Peter O'Meara as Bill
• Luis Guzman as Javier
• Brandon Keener as Jarrad

Production

Baltimore, Maryland, was selected for the setting of He's Just Not That Into You because the city had not been used as the setting for recent romantic comedies. In addition, screenwriter Marc Silverstein had lived in the city for several years prior to attending college. However, only exterior shots were filmed in the city. Interior scenes were filmed in Los Angeles.

The film's original release date was postponed, moving from October 24, 2008 to February 13, 2009 then to February 6, 2009.

Reception

Critical response

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. As of July 9, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 42% of critics gave positive reviews based on 155 reviews. Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film a 47% approval rating based on 30 reviews. While the film received mixed reviews, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck are often praised by critics as being the stand-outs in the film.

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 $84,436,590 bringing the worldwide gross to $178,390,243 against a $40 million budget.

Awards

Year	Group	Category	Recipient	Result
2009	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie " Romance	He's Just Not That Into You
		Choice Movie Actress " Comedy	Jennifer Aniston

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. "I Must Be High" " Wilco (2:59)
9. "You Make It Real" " James Morrison (3:32)
10. "If I Never See Your Face Again" " Maroon 5 (3:19)
11. "Can't Hardly Wait" " The Replacements (3:04)
12. "Fruit Machine" " The Ting Tings (2:53)
13. "Smile" " Lily Allen (3:15)
14. "Somewhere Only We Know" " Keane (3:57)
15. "Love, Save the Empty" " Erin McCarley (3:17)
16. "Friday I'm in Love" " The Cure (3:35)
17. "Last Goodbye" " Scarlett Johansson (2:32)
18. "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