It Had to Be You

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.

Rom-coms are notoriously hard to get right, when one such genre piece is all but a direct to DVD offering it really doesn't bode well for a good film. It Had To Be You isn't a great film, but it's the sort of sweet and harmless piece that fills a time slot when you are stuck for a viewing one afternoon.

Natasha Henstridge {Anna} and Michael Vartan {Charlie} play two pretty people, who are soon to be married to other people, who get to know each other in the course of planning their respective weddings in the Big Apple. Cue pretty people clearly meant to be together unable to do so out of loyalty to their respective, and clearly wrong for them, intended aisle walking partners. Cue best friends involved, gags and set ups come and go and the ending is never really in doubt. There's even time for some demon exorcising thrown in for added emotional impact.

If that sounds cheekily simple in summary? Then that's because it's befitting the film. It's a simple tale that's been told many times before, both better and worse than this. Vartan and Nat fail to generate much chemistry yet remain charming throughout, and the comedy is good enough to raise a smile or two. Particularly from Michael Rispoli & Olivia d'Abo as the couple's best friends. It's decently shot and unobtrusively directed, while that obvious ending still has the ability to warm the cockles of even the coldest of hearts. Should have been better for sure, but by no means a time waster in the basic sense of the saying. 5.5/10

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.

As we all know a romantic comedy is the genre with the ending already known. The two leads always have to get together. Late in the third act I was trying to figure out how this will wrap up and how they will end up together. A clue was given right from the start, but you'll never realize it until the end. It's a simple hook, but it works. It Had To Be You cover a lot of the usual ground, but takes a fresh spin when ever possible. I liked all the NY characters and I loved the locations. It's a postcard of NY. Also it was nice to watch a film and not find anything offensive in it. So, if you like a good old fashion romantic movie ... then this is for you.

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.