Barnes & Noble

The best romantic comedy of 2003 derives much of its effectiveness from the inspired teaming of two inimitable big-screen veterans: Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Writer-director Nancy Meyers certainly deserves a great deal of credit for supplying witty dialogue and directing her A-list cast with a feather-light touch, but ultimately this little ditty is all about Jack and Diane. Nicholson plays a music industry tycoon who practices serial monogamy with women young enough to be his daughters. While trysting at a beachfront home with his latest girlfriend (Amanda Peet), the aging lothario is stricken with a heart attack and confined to the house, much to the chagrin of his date's mother (Keaton), a blocked playwright and divorcée who doesn't take kindly to Jack's liaison with her daughter. Meyers concentrates at first on the gradual thawing of their initially frosty relations, and then on the mutual attraction that blossoms into romance -- with all the attendant misunderstandings and complications. It's so refreshing to see a film of this type made with, about, and for middle-aged people, a constituency to which Hollywood has given short shrift in recent years. What's more, the casting lends a great deal to the enterprise's credibility: Nicholson is widely known to prefer dalliances with younger women, and Keaton's well-documented eccentricities make her eminently believable as the repressed, neurotic writer. About the only thing for which Meyers can be faulted is the underutilization of her massively talented supporting players. Only Keanu Reeves, playing the young doctor who treats Nicholson and falls in love with Keaton, gets juicy scenes and a reasonable amount of screen time. Nicholson and Keaton -- who earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination -- are the main attractions here. It's a pleasure to see these old pros sparring onscreen in roles that fit them like gloves. Something's Gotta Give endearingly kids the conventions of contemporary, youth-oriented Hollywood romances yet also has the good sense to poke fun at the faults and foibles of its principal characters.

All Movie Guide

In keeping with the light and slick tones of her earlier film What Women Want, Nancy Meyers writes and directs the romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give. Jack Nicholson plays Harry Langer, a swinging sixtysomething entertainment executive surrounded by plenty of young girlfriends. His latest romance is young petite sophisticate Marin (Amanda Peet), who takes him to her mother's beach house in the Hamptons for a weekend fling. However, Marin's successful Broadway playwright mother Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is already vacationing at the house with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). Marin and Harry stay anyway, and Harry ends up having a heart attack. He goes to the hospital and is looked after by thirtysomething doctor Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Impressed by her writing, Dr. Mercer finds himself pursuing a romance with Erica. Because of his serious health condition, he orders Harry to stay near the hospital. While Marin returns to Manhattan, Erica agrees to stay on and look after Harry. Of course they are repulsed by each other at first, but they end up falling in love throughout the recovery process. Also starring Jon Favreau as Harry's assistant. Andrea LeVasseur

Product Details

• UPC: 043396013025
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 2:08:00
• Sales Rank: 7,084

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Something's Gotta Give / As Good As It Gets
• Something's Gotta Give / Sleepless in Seattle

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