Let's start off by saying this. Don't be fooled by the new Jennifer Aniston flick, Love Happens new this week at the movies. If you're going in thinking this is a romantic comedy, you'll be wrong. And to be fair, it's really not even a Jennifer Aniston flick either.
Love Happens stars Aaron Eckhardt, who plays a fictional motivational speaker, a Dr. Phil type named Burke Ryan. He is bursting upon the scene with books, a TV show, and other media possibilities. His whole thing is you must confront your pain to get passed it. He is dedicated to his craft, and is great at helping others with their emotional pain and helping them get passed it. Trouble is, he won't confront his own, or deal with it. He has major demons in his attic, and they need to be dealt with.
He meets Eloise, (Aniston). She is a florist with a long line of bad romantic decisions in her wake. She meets Burke, and they strike up a friendship while he's in Seattle for one of his motivational workshops. It seems Burke wants more, but he is unable because of his demons. The whole thing gets pretty heavy. Will this work out? Are these two perfect for each other? That's the whole predictable story here. And this movie is very predictable.
If you're going to this movie thinking is a fun, light-hearted romantic comedy, then you're going to the wrong flick. True, it is a love story of sorts, but it is also very heavy, very deep, and not really funny. There are a few "cute" and romantic moments here and there, but this is not When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless In Seattle. You have to be willing to go to the mat with these characters and wade through their pain, and it is extensive, to get to the eventual end you see coming the whole movie.
I am a little annoyed with this movie. The title, the packaging of it. It all points to a light movie, and I'm fine that it's not. But this movie is misrepresented. It's not what they want you to think it is.
It's not even a bad movie. But it's predictable, and formula. Aniston, although a main character, her time on screen is limited, as is Martin Sheen's, who sticks his nose in from time to time. LH also drags a few times, and there a few too many side plots that in their idea are OK, but they spend way too much time on them. It gets a bit too bogged down, and there's a bunch of logrolling here. Come on....move on!
Love Happens. Actually love does happen, you just have to wait two hours, and go through the deep soup of despair to get there. Buyer beware, Love Happens is not a wash out, but it's not what you think it's going to be going in. For me, over all, a miss. A rental in 90 days.
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