Not too sweet and very recognizable.

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2005)

This movie has been on my list of movies that I want to see for quite some time. I knew that it got a very nice rating on this website and I was quite curious about it. But it wouldn't be the first disappointment because I was expecting too much of it and that's why I never came to watching it. Until now. Don't ask me why, because there was no special reason for it. I didn't just break up with my girlfriend, so it wasn't a choice of movie that seemed to be right for the moment.
Rob is in his thirties and is the owner of a record-store that is situated in one of the worst neighborhoods to start a business in because there is almost no-one passing by. He doesn't have too much clients and his two clerks aren't exactly a great help either. But he doesn't really care, because he has other, bigger problems on his mind. He isn't a teenager anymore, although he sometimes still acts like one and he finally realizes that it's about time that he starts to grow up. His girlfriend has left him and in order to deal with the pain he starts to make a list of the five worst break-ups in his life. And while doing so, he recalls each break-up, tries to reconnect with his former girlfriends in order to find out why they dumped him...
If the ladies are looking for an insight in the mind of the average man in his late twenties, early thirties, this might be a good movie to watch. And for us men it's nice to see that you aren't the only one who still seems to think like a teenager from time to time, even though you're already past that age for at least more than a decade. It's all recognizable and that's what makes this movie so funny. We all went (some of us probably still are) through such a 'crisis' and it's always nice to see a comedy that makes fun of it. And it has to be said, even though this could be categorized as a romantic comedy, this is by far one of the best in the genre, because there is absolutely nothing syrupy about it. I've seen several romantic comedies lately and seeing one as good as this one is a rarity, believe me.
That it is so good also has a lot to do with the acting of course. John Cusack, Todd Louiso and Jack Black, who were really perfectly cast for their roles, really did a very fine job. Their three characters together made it perfect. If one of them would have been left out, this could never have been the same fine comedy. But they weren't the only good ones in this movie. A nice 'surprise' was Iben Hjejle. I had seen her once in "Mifune's Last Song", but I didn't know that she had played English speaking roles as well. She really did well and I hope to see her in similar roles soon.
All in all this is one of the best examples when it comes to romantic comedies. This may well be one of the few that will appeal to women as well as to men, because it all is so recognizable and not sweet at all. I certainly liked it and that's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.