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Critics Consensus: Love Happens is a dull, chemistry-free affair that under-utilizes its appealing leads.
Critic Consensus: Love Happens is a dull, chemistry-free affair that under-utilizes its appealing leads.
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All Critics (108) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (91) | DVD (1)
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.
Love isn't inspired, it's hammered flat like Khrushchev's shoe.
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.
Hang in there Jen. You can do better.
Other stuff happens too, all of it strained and dull.
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.
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.
For as much as this movie tries to wrap itself around an emotionally powerful story, I felt there was a great emptiness inside.
...the movie finally packs a surprisingly resonant emotional punch...
Call it a romantic comedy or romantic drama; you're still not going to giggle, your heart won't be warmed and ultimately, you'll leave unsatisfied.
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.
It's awful.
Horrible title. Somewhat bland, stereotypical leads: widower seemingly capitalizing on tragedy and quirky gal who needs to be quirkier than Jennifer Aniston can play her. Burke's reconciliation with his father-in-law is kinda nice, and I do like a good old ASL meet-cute.
Super Reviewer
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.
Eh...
this film is the story of a man, Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart), who has made a career out of his denial after his wife was tragically killed in an automobile accident. Writing a self-help book which became a best seller, Burkes agent, Lane (Dan Folger) has scheduled him on a whirlwind tour around the nation which has, after three years, returned him to his hometown of Seattle and It is his return to the city of his loss that begins his healing.
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