It Had to Be You

This is the first Michael Vartan movie i've seen-i haven't seen Alias- and i was curious to see if the guy can act.He sure can and is likable in this movie.Natasha Henstridge is of course gorgeous but she is usually in more physical and action roles,so i found her very good and lovable in this different"sweet" role of a schoolteacher. Some of the negative comments i read are true,the movie is full of clichés and the story doesn't ring true at all.Also,even though every character in the movie remarks how good they look together,i don't think there is screen chemistry there. However,i enjoyed this movie.The locales are nice,the characters are likable and goodlooking and the supporting actors are pretty good. If you are expecting to see a great romance,this is not it.But if you want to see a pleasant innocent goodlooking movie with likable characters its very good.

Anna is a teacher who is in the big city to register at a large department store for her approaching wedding. Charlie, a writer, is there for the same reason. Their partners, it seems, have very busy lives and have left it to Anna and Charlie to deal with the mundane tasks of their engagements. It happens that Anna and Charlie meet at the store and strike up a conversation. When they run into each other later at a restaurant, they decide to share a meal. It appears a friendship is blossoming. Throughout a week, they will meet several times. Is the "just friends" routine becoming something else? This is nice, dignified story about two adults who go down a road that each of them did not expect to travel on. Engaged to others, they share a mutual attraction but make it clear that promises to their partners are very important to them. This makes the demise uncertain. Henstridge and Vartan are very elegant and attractive people who convey their mixed-up feelings effortlessly. The costumes and sets are alluring, too. If you would like to try an adult love story with scruples and gentle humor, for a change, this one is quite lovely.

Honestly, it was painful watching this movie, for two reasons.

The First is pretty obvious: the movie was entirely predictable. I mean, really, with the cheesy lines and ridiculously out-of-place, underdeveloped sub-plot, could there have been any ending other than the one that happened.

Second, the dialogue sucked. It was so bad, it made the actors look uncomfortable (or maybe they just sucked). Either way, it did not give me the feeling I was watching a movie; I thought I was watching friends of mine who were bad at acting read off of a script, and not really understand what they were saying.

Do not see this movie.

It was a happy accident to stumble across this movie while channel surfing. The New York setting (a very effective use of locations not always used in the movies) got me, and the characters held on to me. It was a sort of formulaic plot, but that didn't matter so much, as it was a film with people that you could like and emphasize with.

Having been familiar with Natasha Henstridge only with her Science Fiction and TV roles, it was a major revelation to see her in a gentle, likable part. I hope that she gets other roles like this.

I just can't understand the negative comments about this film. Yes it is a typical boy-meets-girl romance but it is done with such flair and polish that the time just flies by. Henstridge (talk about winning the gene-pool lottery!) is as magnetic and alluring as ever (who says the golden age of cinema is dead?) and Vartan holds his own.

There is simmering chemistry between the two leads; the film is most alive when they share a scene - lots! It is done so well that you find yourself willing them to get together...

Ignore the negative comments - if you are feeling a bit blue, watch this flick, you will feel so much better. If you are already happy, then you will be euphoric.

(PS: I am 33, Male, from the UK and a hopeless romantic still searching for his Princess...)