Ashley Judd falls in love with Greg Kinnear gets dumped by Greg Kinnear moves in to an apartment with womanizer Hugh Jackman and discusses how awful men are with Marisa Tomei. That sentence should drive home the fact that there isn't a lot goin'on that's original in this movie. Despite that fact, for a light romantic comedy there are things to like about it.

The story revolves around Jane (Judd), an early thirties talent booker for a daytime talk show. She falls in love with the new director on the show who dumps her right after she decides to move in with him. Since she has already given up her apartment she is forced to move in with Ray (Jackman). Ray is the stereotypical "evil male" who goes through women like Germany through France. Jane disapproves of his lifestyle and lets him know it. When moping about her loss of her boyfriend, she finds an article that explains the mating habits of a male cow. Once he has mated with a female he will not mate with her again. He wants a new cow. Jane decides to apply this theory to the human male and begins to research into the mating habits of different males in the animal kingdom. Her friend Liz (Tomei) works for a men's magazine and wants her to write an monthly column. Jane decides to write it but only under the condition that she can create a fake identity to do so. Will Jane win back the man who dumped her or will she fall for the awful Ray.

This is a standard dippy romantic comedy whose basic story has been done several hundred times. What makes this movie stand out to a degree is the cast and the chemistry. Ashley Judd is does a great job bringing a simple sweetness to the screen. She is incredibly charming and believable as the woman who has just been dumped. Jackman is the one who stands out here. He is extremely funny in this movie and if the sighs from the girls sitting next to me are any indication, he proved that he could handle being a lead in a romantic comedy as easily as he did in the X-men. They have great chemistry together. Greg Kinnear is Greg Kinnear in this movie. He doesn't earn raves but he isn't horrible as the failure to commit guy. Marisa Tomei plays her usual type of character but is funny and works well in this type of movie. The most disappointing thing about the cast is Ellen Barkin. She is one of my favorite actresses and gets a very one-dimensional role to work with. She is definitely under used.

As I was walking out of the theater a few people called this a Sunday afternoon HBO movie and I have to agree. If you are looking for something deep to sink your teeth into this is not your movie. It is a decent date movie nothing more. It is not highly original and the story is kind of weak. Several loose ends don't get resolved. It is fairly funny and the romantic leads have good chemistry together. If you need a night out and want a light romantic comedy movie then this one is for you. I laughed throughout the movie despite its flaws. On a one to ten it is a 6.5.

Paul Ferris

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