In this contemporary love triangle scenario, Reese Witherspoon plays Lisa, a 31-year-old professional athlete who's known to her teammates as the “glue that holds the U.S. National Softball Team together,” but who suddenly faces an uncertain future when she fails to make the final cut. On the same day, sad-sack milquetoast George (Paul Rudd) discovers that he's under federal indictment for stock fraud at the investment firm owned by his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson). So, it's no surprise that Lisa and George's “blind date”—arranged by a mutual friend—turns out to be a disaster. Besides, Lisa's still having an affair with super-stud Matty (Owen Wilson), a self-absorbed Washington Nationals pitcher. While this acting quartet is impressive, the emotional connections between the characters are frayed and fragmented in writer-director James L. Brooks' How Do You Know, a complicated dramedy seemingly in search of a plot. Perhaps Lisa and George are meant to be together, but Matty is so much more appealing (and Wilson is so irresistibly charismatic) that her choice somehow disappoints. And George's stalwart, fiercely loyal, and very pregnant assistant, Annie (Kathryn Hahn), steals every scene she's in, making us care less about the main characters. A particularly disappointing swing and a miss from Oscar-winner Brooks (Broadcast News, Terms of Endearment), this is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director James L. Brooks and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, select scene commentary by Brooks and costar Owen Wilson (33 min.), an “Extra Innings” making-of featurette (15 min.), deleted scenes (7 min.), a blooper reel (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a conversation with Brooks and composer Hans Zimmer (26 min.), extra deleted scenes (20 mins.), a behind-the-scenes clip (2 min.), an interactive script gallery, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)
How Do You Know
Sony, 121 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.95, Blu-ray: $34.95, Mar. 22 Volume 26, Issue 3
How Do You Know
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