Something's Gotta Give   

Directed and Written by Nancy Meyers

Starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Frances McDormand, Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and strong language.

117 minutes run time

Jack’s back!  And what a great feeling to see him once again playing a role he’s good at, the devil-may-care, live for today debaucher of the “free love” 60s and 70s.  He should have Hugh Hefner’s robe to wear for his everyday clothing.  After all, the life his character, one Harry Sanborn, is a never-ending Hefner fantasy.  No problems, just sex with every under-30 beauty queen that comes his way.  The part Sanborn is way more “Jack” than his previous Warren Schmidt, in “About Schmidt.”  He is back to his persona from “Terms of Endearment,” in which he co-starred with Shirley MacLaine, who was every bit his match in that romantic comedy, as Diane Keaton is in this one.  He needs a strong female lead in his movies to bring out the best he has to offer and MacLaine’s strength was a major factor in his Oscar performance  in “Terms.”

Enter Diane Keaton, the mother of Jack’s early 20s-something girlfriend who shows up unexpectedly at her wealthy and successful mother’s shack in the Hamptons.  Another romantic comedy about rich people!  Out at the same time as “Love Actually,” about the lonely Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who wears his heart on his sleeve.  Don’t the poor or working class people fall in love?  Or is it that their movies just don’t get the press?  Rich people in love are big news.  Poor people in love are welfare problems.

Jack is also very rich.  He is, in fact, richer than Diane.  He made his fortune with “about ten” companies, the richest of which is a hip-hop record production company.  OK, I’m going to ask a dumb question here, is writer Nancy Myers making fun of us?  White-bread Nicholson as the head of a hip-hop label?  Before you get your hopes up, he doesn’t break-dance in the movie.  Not once.

But we’ll give Myers a little slack on that one, as we do for screenwriters of all romantic comedies.  One can’t fault her screen writing successes, which include the two “Father of the Bride” movies, “Private Benjamin” and just before this one, “Parent Trap;” or her direction of “What Women Want,” with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.  All these movies are strictly video material for me; pick it up and get home on a rainy night.  But that’s just me.  And it couldn’t be any worse than the plot of “Love Actually” where Grant starts an affair with the first staffer he runs into on his first day as prime minister of Great Britain.  But that’s another story, and Myers had nothing to do with it.

Keenu Reeves plays a very sweet role as a handsome, successful and charismatic doctor who is practicing in the Hamptons (all characters in this movie had to be worth at least $1 million or they were written out of the script).  He is kind, smart, precise and shows excellent judgment at all times, with one slight exception, he likes older women like Diane Keaton.  Of course, a lot of men of all ages like Diane Keaton.  She is, after all, a movie star, and has never looked better.  Even her wrinkles are sexy!  Keenu appears to be taking a little time off from his weightier roles in the heavily milked “Matrix” series of productions.  What a nice change to see him in one piece, without some kind of electrode sticking out of his body, and acting like a human again.o

Amanda Peet is stuck with the not-very-challenging role as Jack’s inflatable sex doll.  The opening scenes of the movie were so degrading to her and every female on earth that I thought the audience was being set up for some kind of a joke.  But there was no joke, it was for real.  The beautiful Ms. Peet had fallen for Jack and was going to do everything in her power to satisfy him in bed, in her mother’s sea mansion in the Hamptons.  Peet is appearing in a new Woody Allen film in 2004, so apparently her work paid off.  We all hope she won’t be cast as Woody Allen’s girlfriend, the fate befalling Tea Leoni in “Happy Ending.”  Hasn’t she paid dues enough?

Rounding out the leading cast is Francis McDormand, one of my favorite actresses, in a minor role that could have been filled by anyone.  What a waste of talent.  In any event, when you see her name in the lights for this movie, don’t go for the sake of seeing her.  Her lines may total two minutes in length, maximum.

A mixture of good and bad, to be sure, but great to see a hit movie starring people over 55.  Hollywood needs the variety.  This film contains some very funny scenes, especially in the beginning of the show, including a great running joke about nitroglycerin, Viagra and heart attacks that Jack executes to perfection.  He loves jokes at his expense and does a world class act with several in this story.  Does the movie rate the nearly two hour run time?  No.  It ended at about the ninety minute mark with one set of match-ups, but had to grind on for the next half-hour of soul searching by Jack and Diane, until everybody changed partners again for the final ending.  My fellow viewers were squirming in their seats.  If you love rom-coms, Nicholson or Keaton, see it.  Leave early if you like.