I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT is both the title of this shallow film and a question that needs to be posed to Sarah Jessica Parker: why is she continuing to take on films that are way below her talent? Based on a novel by Allison Pearson adapted for the screen (and transferred from England to the US) by Aline Brosh McKenna and directed by Doug McGrath this tale of a woman who everybody thinks is superwoman but in reality is an insecure career focused tinker in too many lines of living (mom of two young kids whose work results in her depending on a nanny to raise her children, wife of an aspiring husband who must take second place to his wife's career, miscommunicating new hire for an important role in finance, etc).
Part of the film's problem is the technique of having the various characters talk to the audience, often without even eye contact, trying to make the whole story hang together. Sarah Jessica Parker (looking worn out and saggy) is the star of the film as Kate Reddy, Greg Kinnear is her it's-OK-to-be second-rate husband, Christina Hendricks has a bit of sparkle as Kate's omnipresent girlfriend, Olivia Munn is her Harvard trained office gopher, Pierce Brosnan is her important new boss who sort of sees her for what she is, Kelsey Grammar is her usual boss who is accompanied by the office smart mouth Seth Myers. A lot of fine talent here pretty much wasted on a story so full of clichés and standup comedienne routines and physical pratfalls that is sinks under its own weight. How these films make it is a question that makes us take a look at what pleases current audiences. Pass.
Grady Harp
Part of the film's problem is the technique of having the various characters talk to the audience, often without even eye contact, trying to make the whole story hang together. Sarah Jessica Parker (looking worn out and saggy) is the star of the film as Kate Reddy, Greg Kinnear is her it's-OK-to-be second-rate husband, Christina Hendricks has a bit of sparkle as Kate's omnipresent girlfriend, Olivia Munn is her Harvard trained office gopher, Pierce Brosnan is her important new boss who sort of sees her for what she is, Kelsey Grammar is her usual boss who is accompanied by the office smart mouth Seth Myers. A lot of fine talent here pretty much wasted on a story so full of clichés and standup comedienne routines and physical pratfalls that is sinks under its own weight. How these films make it is a question that makes us take a look at what pleases current audiences. Pass.
Grady Harp