By: Kevin T. Keeling
In all honesty, I was going into this movie expecting garbage. I was expecting a Guys movie with a bit of Romance Flare thrown in. So, I really did not have an interest in the plot or the characters or events of the story. It is rare that I do this, outside of Found Footage Films, but it is really unfair of me.
After watching the movie, I was pleasantly surprised at what this movie was really about. Yes, it was about Jon’s life as one would expect in a Guys with a bit of Romance Flare thrown in, but that was the point of it. The idea of this movie was to point out the flaws of a Guys movie, and the flaws of a Romance movie, and the flaws of relationships built around the stereotypes of both.
For anyone having a bit of trouble getting what I am saying, think of movies like Scream or Cabin in the Woods. The point of these movies are to look at the stereotypes of horror films, analyze them, poke fun at them, while at the same time falling into the same stereotypes.
Anyway, onto the plot, aside from the analytics.
The movie centers around JGL’s character who is obsessed with pornography in the way that most people with access to a computer and a healthy libido are obsessed. However, his character has a bit of trouble realizing that porn is just like any movie; there are actors, there is a set of events, a beginning, a middle, and a climax. (Yes, it is was low hanging fruit making that pun, but if I went for higher end humor every time, then I would have a lot of overripe fruit at my feet). Jon has trouble accepting that sex is not like porn.
The initial love interest of JGL’s character is Barbara, played by Scarlett Johansson. Barbara too has a bit of trouble discerning reality from her brand of movies; Romance Films. Johansson’s character can only see a relationship in terms of the stereotypical Romance Movie, with the man giving up everything to be with the woman. This gives the impression that she can only see the man in a relationship as subservient; appearing to be fully functional, but having to rely completely on the woman for guidance.
Both Jon and Barbara have a misunderstand of what a relationship, or even sex, is really like, and both are just two incorrect puzzle pieces trying to fit together. Jon has to keep changing so that Barbara becomes more accepting of him, while Barbara does nothing to change so that Jon can accept her. She thinks that she is perfect, and her views are what is right. Barbara cannot accept Jon’s essentially normal obsession with porn, and the couple decides to split.
This is where the Mrs. Robinson character comes in (which has become another stereotype of a Guys movie, or maybe even a stereotype of Coming of Age films). Julianne Moore plays Esther, who basically teaches Jon that life is not like porn, but it can be if you have the right person.
I know I have left a lot out of the story, but I’d rather people check this one out.
I give this movie a 7/10.
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