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.
Love Happens (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:94
Fresh:17
Rotten:77
Average Rating:3.8/10
Consensus: Love Happens is a dull, chemistry-free affair that under-utilizes its appealing leads.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] PG-13 for some language including sexual references.
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Sep 18, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $22,927,390
Synopsis:
Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston star in the romantic drama Love Happens. When a self-help author arrives in Seattle to teach a sold-out seminar, he unexpectedly meets the one person who might...
Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston star in the romantic drama Love Happens. When a self-help author arrives in Seattle to teach a sold-out seminar, he unexpectedly meets the one person who might finally be able to help him help himself.
Dr. Burke Ryan (Eckhart) is on the precipice of a major multimedia deal, but the therapist who asks his patients to openly confront their pain is secretly unable to take his own advice.
Eloise Chandler (Aniston) has sworn off men and decided to focus on her floral business. However, when she meets Burke at the hotel where he's speaking, there is an instant attraction. But will two people who have met the right person at exactly the wrong time be able to give love another chance?
As each struggles with the hurt of love and loss, they realize that in order to move forward, they need to let go of the past. And if they can, they'll find that, sometimes, love happens when you least expect it. --© Universal
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer, Joe Anderson, John Carroll Lynch, Martin Sheen
Director: Brandon Camp
Director: Brandon Camp
Screenwriter: Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson
Producer: Scott Stuber, Mike Thompson
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Love Happens
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.
The film is sentimental and deeply embarrassing... There isn't a laugh or an honest emotion in the whole picture.
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.
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.
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.
Lovers of therapy-speak with its "closures" and "I'm in a good/bad place" will probably warm to this film.
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.
How can we, as a species, tolerate Jennifer Aniston with her blurry expression of emotional bravery?
A glossy, meandering wallow of a film with personable stars and predictable storylines. Blandly forgettable even with Aniston at her most winsome.
It's quickly evident that Love Happens hasn't struck the chord it was hoping for.
It's a movie that suffers because it offers a glimpse at a far more interesting premise, but elects to stick to rom-com tradition. Ultimately, love does happen, and for Aniston fans that'll no doubt suffice.
In Jennifer Aniston's latest feeble romantic drama, almost nothing happens. Certainly not love or, indeed, much in the way of excitement.
What a title. Not that this crybaby romantic drama deserves much better.
I will hold up my hands and admit I find Jen pleasant enough to watch, even at the worst of times. But this film IS the worst of times. And even diehard romance fans will find their patience challenged by the end credits.
Anyone expecting the Jennifer Aniston romcom that the posters and trailer seem to promise is going to be bitterly disappointed.
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September 17, 2009:
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June 21, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
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| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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