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Something’s Gotta Give starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson & Keanu Reeves: How A Romantic Comedy Ought to Be

Posted on August 7, 2014 Written by ripitup

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Something's Gotta Give movie poster
Image via movieposter.com.

I’m a huge fan of writer/director Nancy Meyers. It started with What Women Want (starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt), a blast of a romantic comedy with fantasy elements. It’s one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time, though if I had to talk percentages that movie is 80% hilarity and 20% romance. Something’s Gotta Give is a bit more romantic, though the balance is probably more 60% comedy and 40% romance.

It’s safe to call Meyers a superstar when it comes to romcom writer/directors. She writes great stories, directs while remaining honest to her characters and casts A-listers. She usually rocks the box office too. Other star-clad and hilarious Nancy Meyers romcoms include It’s Complicated (with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin) and The Holiday (with Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.) Both are recommended, though of these two, I prefer The Holiday. Something’s Gotta Give Premise: Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is a beautiful, accomplished and divorced playwright with a house in the Hamptons. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a 60-something infamous rich bachelor with a reputation for not dating women over 30. Normally, these two would never meet.

But when Erica’s daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) brings Harry to her mother’s house for a weekend getaway, Erica also happens to be there with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand), and hilarity ensues: Erica pretty much approves of nothing about him, and Zoe sees this as a fascinating opportunity to study the relationships of men and women, and why men tend to go for much younger women. Harry can’t wait to get out of there, but when he has a heart attack right before they can have sex, he is rushed to the nearest hospital where his doctor turns out to be the gorgeous, younger Julian (Keanu Reeves). All three women are pretty smitten by how nice and pretty he is, but he is taken by Erica, whose plays he is a fan of.

Harry is in a rush to go back to the city, but with his health at risk, Julian only allows him to stay at a nearby place for a couple of weeks, which to Erica’s horror, means her house. With everyone back to the city for work, she’s left alone with Harry, and quickly discovers he is a lot more fun, charming and intelligent than she gave him credit for. And to Harry’s dismay, she’s the most interesting and fun woman he has ever met. With a growing friendship and attraction, they will have to deal with their feelings for each other, as well as where Marin, Julian, and their outlooks on romance stand on all of this. After all, Harry doesn’t know how to be a boyfriend, and Julian is the ultimate catch. What does a woman have to do, especially with a play to write?

 

* Something’s Gotta Give is original, hilarious, honest and a little quirky. And if you pay attention, it’s also a fun, modern love story for any age. The movie makes astute observations on how we can’t help when, who or how we fall for, as well as what it means to be single (and dating) in the modern age of divorce and Internet. Of course if you want to get all cynical, you can call this movie superficial in many ways. Sure, there are health problems, but who doesn’t? Everybody is either rich, or making a decent living in NYC. Marin takes antidepressants because she’s an emotional “child” of divorce but her parents broke up when she was 23.

So apart from a couple of romantic and age-related health problems, everything is peachy. So if you do want a depressed outlook on life, go watch 21 Grams. It’s a very powerful, depressing and solid movie where no one is happy. And they deal with a lot of heavy stuff. If you want a more realistic romance where people aren’t rich, or all that healthy, watch Forget Me Not, which happens to be one of my favorite romances, by the way. It’s just not that light or optimistic. But if you are ready to dive into the typical (but extremely well-written) world of romantic comedy with a more dose of reality than most (Nicholson gets to lie on the gurney a lot, and being a lovely, smart person (Julian’s character) with brilliant looks doesn’t guarantee your happy ending) where the road to the happily-ever-after is just rocky (and funny) enough, don’t miss Something’s Gotta Give.

Fun Info About Cast and Movie:

–       Diane Keaton was nominated for an Oscar for her role. She and Nicholson were nominated for Best Actress and Actor (in musical or comedy) at the Golden Globes; Diane won.

–       The budget was 80 million, but the movie made$124,728,738 domestically, and a total of $266,728,738 (boxofficemojo.com.)

–       You can download the screenplay at sellingyourscreenplay.com

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Amanda Peet, comedy, Diane Keaton, It's complicated, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, keanu reeves somethings gotta give, nancy meyer movies, Nancy Meyers, romance, Something's Gotta Give, somethings gotta give cast, the holiday, What Women Want

Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton & Patrick Wilson

Posted on March 29, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Morning Glory starring Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton & Patrick Wilson
Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton & Patrick Wilson. Featuring John Pankow, Jeff Goldblum & Ty Burrell. Image via shockya.com

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is a young and accomplished TV show producer. She is all about her work, so she doesn’t really care that much when her obsessive work habits scare off her dates. She is crushed, however, when she gets replaced by another producer. So she frantically sends out resumes and desperately hangs on to the one interview she manages to score:  producing the morning show at IBS. Her enthusiasm persuades her desperate boss Jerry Barnes (Jerry Goldblum) is hired.

But soon she realizes that she has more problems than a low paycheck and current low ratings of the show: The female host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) is pretty sure Becky will soon be replaced, and the male host (Ty Burrell – Phil of Modern Family) is a complete jackass. She fires him, but now she has to find a new male host. Unfortunately, the network has no budget for a good, new host. Desperate, Becky decides to go after her idol, legendary news personality Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), who has a contract at the network but not much reporting to do.

It will be excruciating to try to persuade him to co-host. And it will be even more frustrating to be able to handle Colleen when he is being all conceited and difficult.  After all, according to his former colleague Adam (Patrick Wilson), Mike is the third worst person in the world!

It takes all of Becky’s energy to try save the show without losing her mind. And she also has to deal with the fact that Adam is interested in her, and her relationship with him might be worth the hassle. Can Becky handle it all?

**

Morning Glory is a lovely comedy with some emotional moments. The plot is pretty good, and the cast is even better. I love a movie where I can gather a lot of my favorite actors in one place. It was also really fun to see John Pankow, Episodes’ jackass network producer Merc, play a really nice guy in this movie. He is friendly, helpful and loyal. And he is a family man. Quite a nice contrast.

And as opposed to most Harrison Ford fans, I enjoy him more in comedies, and this is no exception. He is as the perfect grumpy old bastard.

Morning Glory is a must see, especially for people who really love their careers.  It is a lovely tale on saving your job, making friends with the most unlikely people and having a good relationship on the side. Strongly recommended.

Written by Aline Brosh McKenna (Three to Tango, Laws of Attraction). Directed by Roger Michell (Changing Lanes, Persuasion).

Also on Rachel McAdams

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The Time Traveler’s Wife starring Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams

Nicolas Sparks vs. Happy Endings: The Notebook starring Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling

Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson & Rachel McAdams

Also on Harrison Ford

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones

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Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche

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3 Best Movie Presidents featuring Bill Pullman, Harrison Ford and Michael Douglas

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The A-Team starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Sharlto Copley & Quinton Rampage Jackson

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No Strings Attached, The Switch and Morning Glory: 3 Romantic Comedies to Anticipate

 

Also on Jeff Goldblum

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Top 10 Entertaining Sci-Fi Movie– feat. Independence Day starring Bill Pullman, Will Smith & Jeff Goldblum

Also on Diane Keaton

Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton & Keanu Reeves

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Aline Brosh McKenna, comedy, Diane Keaton, drama, Harrison Ford, Jeff Goldblum, john pankow, morning glory, morning glory cast, morning glory movie, movies, Patrick Wilson, Rachel McAdams, roger michell, Ty Burrell

No Strings Attached, The Switch and Morning Glory: 3 Romantic Comedies to Anticipate

Posted on November 9, 2010 Written by ripitup

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No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached
Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached

The storyline is obviously ordinary and predictable but if you like the actors, this one seems to be having some nice jokes and it is also refreshing that it is the girl who resists mixing romantic feelings with the sexual ones. Here’s the plot:

Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are longtime friends and at some point they realize that they are the best candidates for each other when it comes to a non-problematic, non-complicated no strings attached sex. But just like many friends with benefits arrangements in real life and fictional world, things will get complicated. We will just have to see if this one will dare to pull a 500 Days of Summer type of ending…

No Strings Attached Trailer:


[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubfcfs98MBw [/pro-player]

Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford & Patrick Wilson

Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson. Also featuring Jeff Goldblum
Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson. Also featuring Jeff Goldblum.

Rachel McAdams plays a young and ambitious news producer who is happy to land a job, despite she is warned by her boss (Jeff Goldblum) that she will be underpaid, overworked and will have a really hard time. She is too over-the-moon to turn this opportunity down. The show is hosted by the eccentric Diane Keaton and Rachel’s job certainly doesn’t get any easier when she decides to hire even the more eccentric, veteran host Harrison Ford, who thinks he is just too good for the position. In addition to her ever-challenging job, her romance with a co-worker (Patrick Wilson) might not make her life any easier either.

A sweet comedy with a touch of romance, true-to-life career ups and downs; including a great friendship story….I love the cast and I so can relate to the plot. I’ll be seeing this movie.

Morning Glory Trailer

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9lWUqraDoU [/pro-player]

The Switch starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis & Jeff Goldblum

The Switch Movie starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis
The Switch Movie starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis

Whether I will wait for the DVD or just see it at the theaters is irrelevant. I will watch this film. Yes, all Jennifer Aniston-haters, you’re welcome to look down on me for being enthusiastic about her new romcom. But frankly, even though I agree that Jen needs diversity in her career, romcom is a profitable genre, it has a certain audience and a good one can offer a great escapism and there is no reason you can’t enjoy it if you like the actors. And even if you despise Jennifer Aniston, have you seen the rest of the cast?

And I did have a real laugh (during the trailer) at how Jason Bateman ends up making the switch and then forgets about it. Sure, the fact that he had feelings for his friend for 13 years and is only just realizing it goes against all my experience and beliefs about relationships and love, but hey, we watched Friends. We can handle this storyline.

And yes, I wish I could see more of Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum and have loved Juliette Lewis since What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Cape Fear.

The Switch Trailer

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEYqgyXyk9A [/pro-player]

**

Note: You can watch the trailers on IMDB by clicking on the links below. Just incase youtube videos don’t work for some reason.

IMDB Trailer Links

No Strings Attached

Morning Glory

The Switch

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Ashton Kutcher, comedy, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford, Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Aniston, Juliette Lewis, morning glory, morning glory movie, morning glory trailer, movies, Natalie Portman, no strings attached, no strings attached movie, No Strings Attached Trailer, Rachel McAdams, romance, romantic comedy, the switch, the switch movie, the switch trailer

Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves

Posted on July 14, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand
Something's Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, in 2003. Image via evlilikhazirliklari.com

Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is well into his sixties but is still dating much younger women. His latest girlfriend is a young woman named Marin (Amanda Peet) who plans a romantic getaway in the Hamptons. The problem is, the house is her mother’s-  successful playwright Erica’s (Diane Keaton), who has just arrived with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). Erica is shocked to see a half-dressed old man at her house and is even more shocked to find out he is not an intruder, but her daughter’s boyfriend. At Zoe’s suggestion, they all decide to stay at the house. As she puts it, they are sophisticated adults.

Erica is definitely not impressed with Harry’s track record of dating. She is even less impressed with his attitude towards older women. Later that night Harry has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. The doctor in charge is Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves), a very handsome 30-something who turns out to be a fan of Erica’s work. To everyone’s surprise, he is flirting with Erica. A bigger, and a much less pleasant surprise comes , however, when Harry doesn’t seem well enough to travel and she ends up having to “babysit” him at her house, alone.

Harry is more than anxious to go back to his life-sex life in particular. But Julian tells him to stay put until he can climb stairs without feeling exhausted. So as Harry and Erica inevitably spend time with each other and realize –to both their horror- that they may be enjoying each other’s company a little too much. Can Harry handle a mature relationship with a woman his age? Will he realize that Erica is actually the one for him? And if he does, does he have a chance against his competitor- the gorgeous, sweet and passionate Julian who is crazy about Erica?

Something’s Gotta Give is a very funny romantic comedy from writer/director Nancy Meyers (The Holiday, What Women Want,  It’s Complicated). The storyline is original, the actors are marvelous and the jokes are funny. It is one of those rare romantic comedies where guys will enjoys as much as girls, because the movie balances the two genres very well. In fact, I’d rather say the comedy is much more dominant than the romance. Even when Erica and Harry fall for each other, the reactions entertain you immensely. It is also a breath of fresh air to the couples with age difference theme, as the younger girls want Harry, younger Julian wants Erica and Erica and Harry seem to be more right for each other than both of them will realize.

I don’t need to rave about how brilliant and hilarious Jack Nicholson is. I am a huge fan but I suspect that so are you. Diane Keaton is sweet and just as funny. Frances McDormand’s role is important as she tries to make sure her relationship-wary, divorced sister doesn’t give up an opportunity as hot as Julian. And Keanu Reeves is as charming as ever.

The movie is rated 6.8 on IMDB. As for as romantic comedies go, this deserves a 9, if not a 10. I watched thousands of movies and Nancy Meyers has written/directed the romcoms that top my list.  Sure if I have to compare it to all other movies I’ve ever seen, it is probably a fair 7 or 8. But, it is no way justly rated at 6.8. See it and have a great laugh. Of course some people with issues won’t like the film- I read a funny user comment on how it was impossible for Jack Nicholson to pull Amanda Peet, how it was disgusting it was two watch Diane and Jack have sex (right, because only young people with perfect bodies have sex!)  and how a guy that looked like Keanu would no way go for Diane…Right, because young men never fell in love with older women…And Jack has never charmed the pants out of every woman with his acting…

You don’t have to suspend your beliefs to like this film. Just see it. Fun is guaranteed.

Favorite Lines:

*Julian hasn’t met the family yet, he is updating them about Harry’s condition:

Julian (Keanu Reeves): Your dad is going to be OK.

Marin (Amanda Peet): He is not my dad.

Julian: Oh, I’m sorry. Your granddad is gonna be okay.

*Harry (Jack Nicholson) to Erica (Diane Keaton) on his seeing her naked by accident and her freaking out:

Harry: Hey! You saw my ass, you don’t see me acting nuts!

* Harry is complaining to Julian about how uptight Erica is.

Harry: I actually saw her naked last night.

Julian: That doesn’t sound so uptight.

Harry: It was an accident. She thought I was asleep, I thought her bedroom was the kitchen.

Julian: You know what Freud said? There are no accidents.

Harry: Trust me. This was an accident. Although why would she be walking around naked when she knows I am 20 feet away?

Julian: Why would you think her bedroom was the kitchen?

Buy Something’s Gotta  Give from Amazon

Other Posts on Keanu Reeves

Getting to Know Keanu Reeves: Keanu Reeves 101

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Lovely and Weird: “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee”

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi and Keanu Reeves

Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves?

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Can he or can’t he?:  Keanu Reeves Trivia

Other Frances McDormand

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

City by the Sea

Other Amanda Peet

Griffin and Phoenix

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Amanda Peet, comedy, Diane Keaton, Frances McDormand, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, movies, Nancy Meyers, older men younger women, older women younger men, romance, Something's Gotta Give

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