Life As We Know It Movie Blurb by Shale October 9, 2010 This is a formulaic romantic comedy that didn't get very high marks from the professional reviewers. No, it wasn't very original - followed the formula pretty closely but it was a relief for me to relax in a mindless movie after that downer drama I sat thru yesterday, Never Let Me Go. If you saw the trailers you know the set up. A married couple sets up her friend Holly (Katherine Heigl) with his friend Eric AKA Messer (Josh Duhamel) on a blind date that is beyond disaster. He's an easy going player who attracts easy women and enjoys that carefree lifestyle. She's an overachiever, control freak who runs a small catering business. Being friends of the married couple they share some history by attending events at their friends' home, including their wedding and the arrival of their baby Sophie and the baby's first birthday party. They can't stand each other but they are smiling in fotos together. Holly & Messer & BFF & Baby Well, no surprise the couple gets killed in a car wreck and their wish was that their respective friends share custody of their child. Thus, Holly and Messer are thrown together on a common task of caring for a baby (with no experience at all) and the ensuing disruption of their lives this entails. Parenthood 101: Feeding (Babies are Messy) But they adjust to this new responsibility and grow with it. We see the most growth in Messer as his adolescent lifestyle takes a big hit. And as expected, Holly & Messer grow to like each other more. Messer falling into fatherhood routine Of course there are ruff moments as with any relationship and a couple of turns as Holly sort of falls for the stability of Sam (Josh Lucas) Sophie's pediatrician. I found it a sweet movie with some endearing moments. The gags, tho predictable were funny (A couple of girls in the theater laughed hysterically). I enjoyed the growth part and the discoveries you make when caring for a baby. And, I have to say that the babies (a set of triplets for the 1-year-old and a set of twins for the 2-year-old) were right on time with the appropriate responses to the scene. Having fotografed babies, I know how time-consuming that must have been to wait for the babies proper responses. You have to see the movie to pick up on these subtle moments. So, unlike 70% of the aggregate reviewers, I liked the movie (as did 66% of audiences)
catherine heigl seems to be playing the same role over and over again. when i see her in a movie trailer i tend to just write it off as one of her movies thats been done before and will be done again a million times.
I cannot stand Katherine Heigl. Josh in his underwear, though, is enough for me to watch this if I was really really bored one night. =D However, they either airbrushed his legs or he shaves them which is kind of disappointing...
I had a free movie pass and did a trip to the Cinema to see whatever was the nearest screening at the time I got there. I'm glad it was this movie - tho RED woulda been fun also. I really like this story and again, the babies were amazing. BTW, one of the points made by Messer was that the world sees a guy differently when he is carrying a baby. (of course he was using that as a chick magnet). I actually was a highly paid baby sitter once. At the agency in New Orleans I worked giving respite care to families of developmentally disabled member and often would take care of infants. (until the age of 2 they are no worse to care for than non-disabled infants.) Anyhow, had to get out of the depressing house where I was taking care of a baby so I packed up and took a streetcar ride. Everyone looked at me differently on the street (coulda been that I was carrying a black baby). But, got to St. Charles and the streetcar was at the stop in the middle of the avenue but I was blocked by traffic. The streetcar driver saw me coming AND ACTUALLY WAITED FOR ME TO CROSS THE STREET. NOT a usual courtesy! That was about the only experience with raising small children. My wife had rules that our grandchildren would not come for overnight visits until they could take themselves to the toilet and flush it.
