You’ll know it when you see it. Many of the exteriors in “How Do You Know” were filmed in the Washington area. But only the sequence shot at Nationals Park will be instantly recognizable to locals. Likewise, there’s little about the slow romantic comedy that makes it recognizable as a movie from acclaimed writer-director James L. Brooks.
To his credit, Brooks shows off our town’s regular streets and neighborhoods without having to resort to national monuments or political plotlines to prove the location. In addition, the filmmaker behind modern classics “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News” and “As Good As it Gets” once again includes Hollywood monument Jack Nicholson in his mix. But this time, despite an obvious intention to elevate popcorn entertainment with smarts, Brooks’ dialogue-rich combination of sardonic comedy, love story and social observation just doesn’t work.
Besides lacking forward momentum, the overlong picture’s romance triangle never gels. In contrast to pretty production values and a sometimes oddly light tone, the threesome seems mostly bewildered or listless. So it becomes hard to care much whether the protagonist — Reese Witherspoon’s professional softball player Lisa Jorgenson — ends up with Owen Wilson’s womanizing Washington Nationals relief pitcher Manny or Paul Rudd’s honorable loser executive George.
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘How Do You Know’ |
| » Rating: 2 out of 5 stars |
| » Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson |
| » Director: James L. Brooks |
| » Rated R for sexual content and some strong language. |
| » Running time: 116 minutes |
The headliners resurrect their typical/tired on-screen personas without much variation. Nicholson is the unapologetic, grinning bad boy. Here, as George’s corrupt businessman father, he sets up his son to take the rap in a Justice Department investigation into their company.
At the same time, Rudd plays the bumbling, likable everyman. Wilson plays the dim but cute rascal, And Reese plays the plucky All-American heroine who faces conflict with nary a shiny blond hair out of place.
Sure, her character is at the end of her wildly successful career as an athlete. But even though she’s supposedly having the worst time of her life, we already know she’ll be fine. Two attractive men want her, after all, even if one of them (George) is also in professional free fall. There are a couple of glimpses of Brooks’ trademark brilliance, especially thanks to a secondary character: George’s neurotic secretary, beautifully played by Kathryn Hahn. A scene set in the hospital after she has a baby becomes a sweetly observant treatise about warts-and-all love that resists corniness, thanks to another character’s hilarious blunder.
If only the rest of “How Do You Know” had been that knowing.
