Review
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
Starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Frances McDormand
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers
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In Something’s Gotta Give, Jack Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, a wrinkled codger facing the unfortunate reality that his best days are behind him. If that sounds familiar, it should – it's pretty much the same situation Nicholson took on in About Schmidt. Unlike that coot though, there’s a justifiable bounce in Harry’s step – he’s a hip-hop record-label tycoon (to which, someone ponders, "how many words can you possibly find to rhyme with ‘bitch’?"), has a pocket full of Viagra and refuses to date babes over 30.
Sanborn’s latest catch is Marin Barry (Amanda Peet), a hottie who takes gramps to her mother’s beach house for a weekend of sex. But the bedroom gymnastics prove to be a little hard on Harry’s ticker. After suffering a mild heart attack, he’s ordered by the doctor (Keanu Reeves, M.D. – lord help us) to stay put. And with Marin forced to bolt back to Manhattan, Sanborn is left in the care of Marin’s long-divorced mother Erica (Diane Keaton), a successful but excruciatingly uptight playwright.
It’s pretty obvious how this scenario will play out, but then that’s exactly how writer-director Nancy Meyers (What Women Want) likes her material – predictable, playful and dependent on gags revolving around such fodder as bare fannies.
A calendar girl for the mainstream’s definition of grown-up comedy, Meyers’s scripts are so safe and simplistic they often feel like they’ve been created to play out on stage, not on screen. She has little success avoiding clichés but somehow, her stuff keeps attracting marquee names like Mel, Goldie and Julia. While the talent alone hasn’t always guaranteed the best results, something had to give this thing a boost – and Jack and Diane are it.
Supporting characters like Frances McDormand are sadly given little to do, but in a film that’s accommodating two hefty tasks (one, provide Nicholson another opportunity to win some hardware, and two, act as a wonderful comeback vehicle for Keaton), I suppose everyone else just has to stand back.
Surprisingly, even with Nicholson and his famous eyebrows pouring it on, it’s Keaton who leaves a lasting impression. Who cares if Erica – a woman torn between the affections of a rich playboy and the advances of hunky Dr. Keanu – is too self-indulgent for Meyers? The fact that Keaton comes off so genuinely humorous and charming in a sea of unripe slapstick is a treat. Her presence makes this movie a lot better than it should be.
Let’s see here – a movie that proves older ladies can be beautiful, sexy and an object of desire for men of all ages? I think Meyers got it wrong three years ago – this is what women want. |
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