Big Screen Blurb: Life as We Know It



HELP WANTED:

PRODUCTION COMPANY SEEKS ACTRESS TO PLAY A SLIGHTLY ANAL RETENTIVE GIRL WHO IS ULTRA ORGANIZED, STRUCTURED AND MAYBE A LITTLE AFRAID TO LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST--SIMILAR TO LEAD ROLES IN KNOCKED UP...THE UGLY TRUTH...27 DRESSES...KILLERS...oh, wait, never mind, Katherine Heigl just called...we'll use her again.

I really like Katherine Heigl, but does she play any other type of character? Life as We Know It marks the fifth flick in the last three years where she has played Little Miss Structure to some disheveled bad boy. Admittedly, Josh Duhamel is easier on the eyes than Seth Rogan, and the two combine to tally a 3-Star (on the sunny side of 'okay') score with this one, but you get my point. Then again, I believe it was the legend Anthony Hopkins who said, "The best way to excel in a role is to take a role where you really don't have to act at all." With that in mind, I'm guessing Katherine's closets are all neatly organized.

Life as We Know It requires a major balancing act. The story centers around two peas who don't exactly belong in the same pod. There's Holly and Eric (Heigl and Duhamel, respectively). Their match-maker best friends saw something that they didn't three years prior and fixed them up. Bad idea...or so it seemed. The date didn't get out of the drive way. Regardless, the two shelve the dating idea and tolerate each others as psuedo friends in the presence of their mates. After years of finding Eric's immaturity annoying as hell, we fast forward to the present. Their best friends have been tragically killed in a car accident and to everyone's surprise they leave baby Sophie to the misfit pair. Yadayadayada opposites attract as we follow the ups and downs of the relationship that climaxes with the all too familiar rush through the airport scene.

It's okay...3-Stars as previously mentioned. At one point, you become a little concerned that they're trying to do too much here. Balance the shock of being left with the responsibility of a baby (makes me glad my nieces are past diapers), the pain of losing your closest friend and the comedy of being thrown into a tense situation with someone you despise. That Trifector makes for a difficult balancing act. Do they pull it off? Well, yeah--it's all plausible...maybe a little predictable, but that's how Heigl would want it anyway, right? It's a tad long. We know where the story is leading and they probably could have got there in less than 114 minutes, but it's certainly worth a family or date night rental.

This one will create a mini-emotional whirlwind for you, but it will put a smile on your face at times. Certainly enough to rent it. Pass on the Big screen and add it to your queue. That is, unless you're into that wind-blown look.

True...OUT!