Love Happens (2009)

Directed by Brandon Camp
Starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston with Dan Fogler, John Carroll Lynch, Martin Sheen and Judy Greer

I really wanted this movie to be really bad so I could play with the wording of the title a little bit. You know...instead of "Love Happens" I say "Sh!t Happens". Wouldn't that be a lot of fun. I think it would. I also think it's clever and original to use the term "Sh!t Happens" because well, sometimes it does happen. That's what I think and I'm sticking to it. Problem is, the movie wasn't sooo bad that I can slam it and say that the title should have been "Sh!t Happens". But, I will ask...Where in this movie does love happen? Specifically, between the two leads.

Aaron Eckhart plays Burke Ryan, a motivational speaker whose most recent best-selling book helps people deal with the loss of a loved one. Burke himself is a widower and he bases much in his book in dealing with his death of his wife. He travels to her hometown (Seattle)for a seminar and meets a flower shop owner named Eloise, played by Jennifer Aniston. They're intro is rocky but they soon hit it off and are spending time together. The catch is that Burke is hiding a lot of frustration and guilt (you know...feelings) concerning his wife's passing.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT READ THIS: If you haven't seen the film then watch it and continue down to the next paragraph.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN IT READ THIS: Am I wrong here or would Burke's action throw him right into the "friend zone"? After their second interaction in which he goes of on her and gives her the finger, he turns all mushy and complicated, and doesn't make any moves other than staring at her ackwardly. Is that considered a move nowadays? He does seem like he needs her help but he also is very guarded. Granted Eloise seems like the type of girl who is into guy's that need fixing. But, why would she like him so quickly? He has like 50 oppurtunities to kiss her and then doesn't...I know, I know...they shouldn't really kiss until the end...classic chick flick rule...introduce the characters, split them apart, kiss at the end, roll credits. It just seemed to me that they seemed like better friends. What do you think?

FOR ANYONE: This movie wasn't that bad. It was really more of a movie about Burke than it was Eloise, or them together. In fact, it was sort of a serious subject matter with a rom com thrown into the middle. This made the tone of the film a little shifty. But, the serious scenes were played well. Maybe my problem was the chemistry between Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Anniston. This is the same type of part Anniston has been playing all-the-time recently and it seemed like she really phoned it in.

I had a really good beer for this screening. It was a beer from the great state of Michigan called Bell's Two Hearted Ale. It was a very hoppy, very full flavored beer and it was delicious. I definitely recommend it.

FORCE THE BOYFRIEND: 6 out of 10 (1 mean he'll hate it, 10 means he'll love it)- main character is really a male.

Watched if you liked...any chick flick with Jennifer Aniston.

Chick Flick: 3 cartons of ice cream (out of 5)
DVD: 3 pieces of milky chocolate (out of 5)-for a wierd special feature that showcases how almost every scene was CGI.
Beer: 4 manly high fives (out of 5)