Something's Gotta Give

While blessed with entertaining performances and uncommon earnestness (for a Hollywood movie) concerning the tribulations of middle-aged romance, there's something a little too artificial about Something's Gotta Give. Taking place largely in a Hamptons beach house (that is quite obviously a soundstage) where a divorcee playwright (Oscar-nominated Diane Keaton) has been duped into nursing an aging playboy (Jack Nicholson) after he's had a heart attack while fooling around with her flighty daughter (Amanda Peet), the film's snappy sense of humor is all too often undercut by affected romantic chemistry and by the overuse of facile cinematic conventions (such as musical montages of characters laughing, talking, and drinking wine while the camera circles them in the candlelight). As written and directed by Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, The Parent Trap remake), the unlikely love story that forms between Nicholson and Keaton is a source of sophisticated laughs, but the film is ultimately lucky to have such charming, illustrious stars to make up for the over-polished script, which incorporates many unnecessary twists and turns of the heart on the way to its pat-from-the-get-go ending. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by writer-director Nancy Meyers, costar Diane Keaton, and producer Bruce A. Block; the other by Meyers and costar Jack Nicholson), a three-minute “Hamptons House Set Tour” with costar Amanda Peet, a three-minute deleted scene, cast and crew filmographies, and trailers. Bottom line: good commentary tracks make this extras package a winner even if the film itself feels a little overdone.] (R. Blackwelder)