Product: Someone Like You [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 2.0
Typifies the worst type of "Chick Flick" for us gals...
It's sad in a way, that the movie's this bad, because it shouldn't be. The stars are likeable. Production values are good. There are a few witticisms.But right underneath are some really nasty ideas, all of them hugely sexist in that "men are evil" way that gives chick flicks a bad name and should offend anyone who sees them.The plot of "Someone Like You" is simple: "Men are evil. Just kidding. The end."So, OK, the movie isn't the worst ever made. Teeny, tiny Size-Zero Ashley Judd is funny and appealing in the cookie-cutter Meg Ryan part (although her character chomps cookies nonstop through the movie -- like *that's* realistic). Hugh Jackman is likeable and very funny. That's about it. Marisa Tomei is criminally wasted as Ashley's friend (I just hope she got a good paycheck for such a thankless part), but she looks gorgeous.But that's about it. The movie's really sexist at heart, and in a continuing trend, somehow the whole idea that "Men are evil" is supposed to be cute and inoffensive, where any film claiming the opposite would certainly have us women yelling pretty loudly. It's offensive. No, men aren't evil, they're not bulls, and movies like this aren't as smart or witty as they think they are. Which is a shame, because it has a few charming moments in all the hypocrisy that had me wishing they'd simply paid the writer a few bucks for a better film.So much for the "chick flick" theory. We all deserve better than stupid, badly written movies with terrible marketing campaigns and overpaid actresses. I mean, REALLY. When did it become OK for a 2-star movie to get 5 stars simply because people are desperate for a little light entertainment? What if, instead, we said, "Nah, movie's not so good, we deserve better than this cookie-cutter dreck"? Just a thought.