Attraction animale

Romantic comedies are all hampered by the same thing, predictability.

We know the female lead will have her heart broken, and then through a series of madcap adventures, find out her one true love was there all along. "Someone Like You" is no different in this regard. So the only way for such a film to win us over, is with great acting from the stars, and more importantly, an entertaining and well thought out script. "Someone Like You" meets both criteria.

Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman have great chemistry together, and give fine performances. Greg Kinnear is, well, Greg Kinnear. But the script is what brings this movie home. It passes over some of the more obvious plot points, in favor of predictable, yet satisfying outcomes.

Not a bad date for women, and us cows alike!

Jane Goodale (Ashley Judd) and unromantic heartbroken Eddie Alden (Hugh Jackman) are busy booking red meat for Diane Roberts (Ellen Barkin)'s daytime talk show. Ray Brown (Greg Kinnear) is the new executive producer coming from serious news. Liz (Marisa Tomei) is her best friend. Despite her reservations and his girlfriend of 3 years, she begins to go out with Ray. She leaves her apartment to move in with Ray but he breaks it off with her. She's forced to move in with Eddie. That's when she comes up with the New Cow Theory after reading a New York Times article. Bulls always like to have the new cow. Liz persuades Jane to write an article under a pen name. The article explodes and everybody is looking to interview the mystery doctor including Diane Roberts.

The good news is that Ashley Judd is lovely and she's giving it all to be in a light rom-com. It's pretty light and not that funny. It's not really breaking any new ground with the single gal genre. The two leads Judd and Jackman are so likable and super hot that it keeps the movie from collapsing entirely. Greg Kinnear makes a nice douche turn but the question becomes why does she still care about him. This is generally not funny enough and not compelling enough. If not for the likable leads, there would be nothing to this.

Ladies, we know what it feels to be completely in love and then be cast aside for little or no reason and it stings. Well our heroine in "Someone Like You" set about expressing her disgust of male behavior and her anguish at being dumped in unorthodox methods. I had no clue what to think of the film when I first watched, but within five to ten minutes I was laughing so hard that I began to enjoy the story. Now I'm not a girl who likes players, but I couldn't help immediately falling in love with the character of Eddie Alden, played by Hugh Jackman, just like Ashley Judd's character did. Way too funny and being a huge fan of Hugh's acting, how can I resist.

Not a fan of rom-coms either, but as previously stated the acting and the wit and humor of the script was appealing to me. Give it a shot if you're a fan of the rom-com or comedy genre or if you need a good laugh on a bad day.

Someone Like You had so much promise. The trailers looked so charming and funny yet when you actually sit down and see the movie from start to finish you're left wondering what happened. You have an incredibly talented actress in Ashley Judd and Hugh Jackman is going to be the next big star from Australia. The rest of the cast is no slouch either but I can't help but believe that this movie lost out on writing.

Someone Like You is about finding out what makes men do the things they do in relationships (or the beginning of relationships) and of course falling in love. Jane Goodale (Ashley Judd) is a producer for a talk show that can't just seem to find a long lasting relationship. We meet her at the beginning of the movie as she meets the new executive producer, Ray Brown (Greg Kinnear). Sparks instantly ignite between the two and they soon enter into a serious relationship that has them moving in together. No sooner than that happens, Brown breaks up with Goodale, plunging her into a depressive state that has her searching to find out why this happened.

Did you notice that nowhere in that little summary did I mention Hugh Jackman's character, Eddie Alden? And that's the odd thing about this movie. The trailers clearly show that Judd and Jackman are the main characters of this movie (and of course, end up together) but when you actually see it, Jackman isn't in it nearly as prominently as the trailer indicates. For most of the first half of the movie we see Judd and Kinnear and we're introduced to Jackman's character as the resident playboy of the company but that's about the extent of it. There's enough dialogue that we get a sense of what Eddie's like but not a lot. After the break-up between Judd and Kinnear we begin to see more of Judd and Jackman but only as roommates, nothing more. There are little hints here and there that something is developing but it isn't nearly enough to cause them to fall madly in love with each other by the end. For a romantic comedy there wasn't enough interaction between the characters that are supposed to fall in love with each other.

There's not much to say about Ashley Judd. She's an incredible actor and does well with the material she's given. Marisa Tomei is in this movie as Judd's best friend and she does a wonderful job with the amount of screen time she's given. She seems to be making a bit of a comeback in the movie industry and hopefully we see more of her. Kinnear is good as the consummate `nice-guy' but we've seen him do this role many times before, so much so that I'm getting the feeling that he's getting type-cast, you think? Jackman's last movie was X-men and he's turning out to be quite the good actor. He doesn't have a large number of lines and in many of the scenes, he just gives a look or a quirky smile but he's able to say a lot with those looks. He also has a talent for American accents, which will help him with his career in Hollywood. Look for big things to come from this actor.

Overall, this movie is mediocre. The potential was there but somewhere along the way, it suffered a bit of an identity crisis. Is it a romantic comedy or a drama or maybe even a dramatic comedy??? Who knows? This is a good matinee to go to but not worth full admission.

It's nice to go to a fancy restaurant where you can sit down and have a big, juicy steak with all the trimmings, or a gourmet meal served on fine china. But sometimes you just feel like checking out the pizza buffet, and when the atmosphere is right and the pizza turns out to be perfect, it can be every bit as satisfying as haute cuisine. And that's the way it is with `Someone Like You,' directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear and Hugh Jackman. If you just want to relax and be entertained, with a movie that's not too challenging and let's you just go with the flow, then you've come to the right buffet. Ashley Judd is Jane Goodale, who begins a relationship with new co-worker Ray (Kinnear) that goes so well so quickly that she thinks it's going to last forever. And when it suddenly goes south for no apparent reason, she is crushed. Why did Ray jilt her? Was it just her, or is this just the way `Men' are? Her musings on the subject ultimately lead to the formulation of what she calls the `New Cow' theory, which basically states that once men, like bulls, have had the cow, they move on to yet another `new' cow, leaving the `old' cow behind. Realizing, of course, that lacking sufficient data her concept would never hold up to any real scientific scrutiny, she is afforded the chance to study it further when-- due to the circumstances of her breakup with Ray-- she finds herself without an apartment, and moves in with another co-worker, Eddie (Jackman). And Eddie is a notorious womanizer who seems to have a `new cow' every other day. Along the way, as Jane draws her final conclusions, there are some memorable-- and at times, humorous-- moments, like when Jane revives one of her old cheerleader routines for Eddie. But whether or not she is able to prove her theory doesn't really make any difference; the important thing is, you'll have a good time going along with her while she tries.

There's nothing very deep here, the plot is familiar in the genre of romantic comedy, and Goldwyn certainly doesn't break any new ground with it. He keeps things moving right along, but uses a straightforward approach to tell the story that is fairly unimaginative and lacks the distinction of say, a Nora Ephron film. Still, it's a good bit of entertainment, carried by the engaging performances of Judd and Jackman, which alone makes it worth the price of admission. Judd is a wholesome beauty with a natural appeal, and she can act; Jackman is charismatic and has a definite screen presence. And there's chemistry between the two of them that make it work. There's no real surprises along the way, but it's like taking your favorite scenic drive; you've seen it all before, but it's pleasant and fun, and in the end you're glad you took the trip.

The supporting cast includes Ellen Barkin (Diane), Marisa Tomei (Liz), Matthew Coyle (Staff Member), Hugh Downs (Himself) and LeAnna Croom (Rebecca). When you put it all into perspective, you realize that `Someone Like You' is actually a real treat. And Goldwyn, though he may not have given it that `special' touch, should be given credit for delivering a solid, uplifting and entertaining movie that is well worth seeing. It may not be in the same league as `Return To Me,' or `You've Got Mail,' but if you've ever been subjected to bottom-of-the-genre-feeders like `The Bachelor,' or `The Wedding Planner,' you'll definitely appreciate this one for what it is. It's warm and funny, and it'll leave you with a good feeling inside and a smile on your face. And that, my friends, is the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.