Opening

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100% A Hijacking Jun 21
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—— The Haunting of Helena Jun 21

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Coming Soon

—— How To Make Money Selling Drugs Jun 26
—— White House Down Jun 28
—— The Heat Jun 28
56% I'm So Excited! Jun 28

Love Happens (2009)

tomatometer

17

Average Rating: 3.9/10
Reviews Counted: 106
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 88

Love Happens is a dull, chemistry-free affair that under-utilizes its appealing leads.

7

Average Rating: 3.8/10
Critic Reviews: 28
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 26

Love Happens is a dull, chemistry-free affair that under-utilizes its appealing leads.

audience

39

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 124,735

My Rating

Movie Info

The directorial debut of Brandon Camp concerns a widower (Aaron Eckhart) who makes a living as an expert on grieving. During the course of teaching a seminar, he meets and begins to fall for a floral designer (Jennifer Aniston), a discovery that leads him to face up to the fact he has not fully reconciled the loss of his wife. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

PG-13,

Drama, Romance

Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson

Feb 2, 2010

$22.9M

Universal Pictures

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Cast

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All Critics (107) | Top Critics (28) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (88) | DVD (3)

The sorrowing widower is a great subject for film romance; but the point is to let the girl have a proper crack at cheering him up. And, as always with love, a GSOH would help.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Aaron Eckhart is commanding as a deeply flawed man in Brandon Camp's compelling dramedy, 'Love Happens'

September 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Passionate Moviegoer
Passionate Moviegoer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Is this a movie or a feature-length advertisement for Qwest? We're not just talking one product placement; this brand name is nearly omnipresent.

September 22, 2009 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Hang in there Jen. You can do better.

September 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Other stuff happens too, all of it strained and dull.

September 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film is part romance, part drama, part Seattle travelogue, with Washington emerging as the only true winner. Along with the benefactors of the movie's copious product placements, that is.

September 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Detroit News
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Too bad the filmmakers didn't realize [its] potential, and instead, decided to ignore the special relationship that these two characters could have had by throwing in a lot of irrelevant and clichéd material.

September 24, 2012 Full Review Source: Examiner.com
Examiner.com

For as much as this movie tries to wrap itself around an emotionally powerful story, I felt there was a great emptiness inside.

July 21, 2012 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures
7M Pictures

...the movie finally packs a surprisingly resonant emotional punch...

January 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews
Reel Film Reviews

While there is no doubting the appeal of Eckhart and Aniston as a screen couple, their scenes together come over as decidedly slight when compared to the weightier issues raised by the movie as a whole.

February 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Herald Sun (Australia)

It's awful.

February 24, 2010 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia)
At the Movies (Australia)

This very underwhelming rom-com spends far too much time on the not-so-interesting theories of the hypocritical self-help hero.

February 24, 2010 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia)
At the Movies (Australia)

Not content with being a romcom that's trite and shallow about love, it's gone one step further - it's trite and shallow about death, too.

October 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Times [UK]
Times [UK]

Both stars seem bemused in their parts and it is left to Martin Sheen and a pet parrot to emote. The parrot, in fact, is the best thing here.

October 16, 2009 Full Review Source: This is London
This is London

The film is sentimental and deeply embarrassing... There isn't a laugh or an honest emotion in the whole picture.

October 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Observer [UK]
Observer [UK]

click for the full review

October 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses
Movies for the Masses

Love Happens is more about catharsis than chemistry. It's not a terrible film, but like skydiving lessons, you'd better know what you're getting into beforehand.

October 11, 2009 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

Gooey, banal and manipulative rom-com-dram.

October 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Falls between romance and drama without really satisfying either.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

As a romance story, Love Happens is nothing special, with the spark between Eckhart and Aniston almost non-existent. But as a drama about grief, it's much more interesting, though the blend of both does not always sit easily.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Film4

Lovers of therapy-speak with its "closures" and "I'm in a good/bad place" will probably warm to this film.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Teletext
Teletext

Everyone is trying to re-invent the rom-com at the moment and the makers of Love Happens are no exceptions. The formula they've come up with is to remove all the comedy, which is a bold choice.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Times [UK]
Times [UK]

How can we, as a species, tolerate Jennifer Aniston with her blurry expression of emotional bravery?

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comments (3)
Guardian [UK]

It's not a comedy. It certainly isn't funny.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph
Daily Telegraph

A glossy, meandering wallow of a film with personable stars and predictable storylines. Blandly forgettable even with Aniston at her most winsome.

October 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Daily Express
Daily Express

Audience Reviews for Love Happens

Burke: During your travels, it's important to always keep one thing in mind: when one thing ends, something else begins. 

"Sometimes when you least expect it..."

I'll admit, I'm a sucker for a good romance film, and Love Happens fits that bill for me. It was missing something that would catapult it to one of my favorite romances, but as it is, it's a beautiful and moving piece of filmmaking. It's not quite like other movies that populate the genre. It's unique and it follows its own path, even if that path leads to the same place.

A self-help author who lost his wife three years earlier goes to Seattle for a sold-out seminar. While there he meets a florist, fresh out of a relationship. While getting to know her, he starts to realize that even though he coaches people on how to move on from a loved ones death; he himself can't do that, and maybe Eloise(the florist) is the perfect person to help his with it.

Initially, I decided to give the film a chance because I'll watch anything with Aaron Eckhart or Judy Greer in it. I'm not a fan of Jennifer Aniston, but in Love Happens; she gives a good performance. Eckhart was, like usual, very good. A good supporting cast goes a long way in making the movie what it is as well. 

It could be argued that Love Happens pulls on the heartstrings a little to often, but it could be argued that Elephants are to big. Love Happens is what it is. Yeah, it pulls the tearjerker card at times, but the important thing is that when it does, it works. The movie isn't looking for tears that don't come, at least in my case. I really enjoyed the film and I recommend it to anyone who has any love at all for a good romance.
March 16, 2013
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

Eh...
January 31, 2010
Raajay

Super Reviewer

    1. Eloise: If you had a brain in either head, you'd know that I'm doing what's best for both of us.
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)
    1. Burke: Funerals are important rituals. They're not only recognition that a person has died; they're recognition that a person has lived.
    – Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)

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