MOVIE REVIEW - Life As We Know It

Here comes another attempt at a good romantic comedy. The lovely Katherine Heigl stars with Josh Duhamel in Life As We Know It.

It seems no one is really in any mood for romantic comedies this year. Virtually all of them have been flops. And you may struggle to stick with this one. It just tries so hard to be relevant, and up to date that is becomes hard to watch.

It's an interesting story idea. Holly (Heigl) and Messer (Duhamel) don't like each other after an ill fated blind date three years ago. Flash forward, the people that set them up, are each others best friends. They have a baby, Sophie. The parents die unexpectedly, and leave custody of one year old Sophie to Holly and Messer. Can they put aside their differences live together and raise this baby? Will they fall in love? That's Life As We Know It.

What starts out as a new idea, gets old quick as it falls back into the predictable trap. Good gracioius, can not one Hollywood writer think of a NEW idea for a romantic comedy? I mean new all the way through. Old, tired lines, scenes, techniques, and in the end the same plot. After about 30 minutes this movie gets worse by the frame. Too many non funny side characters, jokes and stunts that are too easy, and a plot line that gets more ridiculous as it goes on. There are some moments that are very funny, especially to young parents as Holly and Messer learn on the job. But it can't be saved.

Heigl is so charming on screen usually, but bad scripts for her the past year are dragging her down the drain. I wish she and her sisiter would quit be a Producer on these flicks, and go back to working with really good people and be "Kathering Heigl" again. She is a funny, beautiful, engaging star on screen, but this is just too bad here. In years ahead she may look back and wonder what the allure of this project was. Duhamel, is just a guy......he's highly adequate here. Handsome no doubt, funny? No. Connected to his audience? No. Baby Sophie sure is cute, and gives us a few awww moments.

But Life As We Know It, is simply not good. I noticed after about 20 minutes the laughing stopped for the most part and we struggled to its merciful end. It just tries too hard to be topical, and up to the minute......it becomes something else - nothing.

Life As We Know It. Idea interesting. The rest? Not!