Ken Kwapis
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How to Be Single (2016)
Directed by Christian Ditter
influenced by He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Plot Themes
Loosely based on the novel by Liz Tuccillo , co-author of “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “How to Be Single” follows several characters and their romantic entanglements—or their strenuous efforts to avoid them.
(The film it most resembles is He’s Just Not That Into You, although that one had Drew Barrymore and was therefore, by definition, better.)
There have also been more than a few ensemble films dealing with love, from He's Just Not That Into You to Valentine's Day to New Year's Eve .
The story, cribbed from Liz Tuccillo’s book, is credited to rom-com writing duo Marc Silverstein & Abby Kohn (The Vow, Valentine’s Day, He’s Just Not That Into You) and Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas), so it shouldn’t be surprising that the film subscribes to so many clichéd notions of love and lust in the Big City.
This would make more sense if “How to Be Single” were an ensemble film like “He’s Just Not That Into You,” both of which are based by books by Liz Tuccillo.
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)
Directed by Frank Tashlin
influenced He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
The classic Frank Tashlin comedy “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” once described TV specials as “the one-line joke stretched into the 90 minute spectacular,” and “HJNTIY” almost fits that description: Its title started out as a line on “Sex and the City,” which then became a romance-advice book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo before being turned into a 124-minute movie by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein.
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Directed by Howard Deutch
influenced He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
And so he strays, jumping into bed with a curvaceous yoga instructor ( Scarlett Johansson ), who's caught up in her own Some Kind of Wonderful conundrum.
Furthermore, any motion picture that can use 1987's "Some Kind of Wonderful" as a story point and sell it wholesale is clearly after my own affections.
Suddenly, she realizes that Hughes' 1987 opus Some Kind of Wonderful (always underrated in my book) can explain, you know, everything.
As a filmmaker he embraces them (“Ordinary People,” “A River Runs Through it,” the extraordinary “Quiz Show”).
There’s a pretty simple reading of the new Amy Schumer movie from writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the writing duo behind “Never Been Kissed” and “He’s Just Not That Into You”) because every headline focuses on Amy Schumer, the stand-up comic turned Emmy-winning sketch comedy force (“Inside Amy Schumer”) who teamed up with Judd Apatow for her feature film breakout (“Trainwreck”).
Although making their co-directorial debut behind the camera, a look at their screenplay filmography is sufficient to create a sense of trepidation: Never Been Kissed , He’s Just Not That Into You , Valentine’s Day , The Vow , How to Be Single .
Based on that summary, you might be tempted to dismiss "I Feel Pretty" sight unseen, and not merely because the past work of writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (who together wrote the screenplays for "How to Be Single" and "He's Just Not That Into You") doesn't inspire confidence.
Charting Renee's transformation, seasoned rom-com writers-turned-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He's Just Not That Into You, The Vow, How to be Single) craft a typical "make a wish" flick, but set their sights on body image.
Produced by McG (so enjoy the irony of a film about unrealistic beauty standards coming from the guy who made the Charlie’s Angels movies) and written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the team behind the passable How To Be Single and the vomitorious He’s Just Not That Into You), I Feel Pretty finds Schumer playing Renee, a self-hating would-be career girl whose near-concussion in a Soul Cycle class prompts her to believe she is, per her longtime wish, “undeniably pretty.”
Veteran rom-com screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Be Single , Never Been Kissed) make their directorial debut with a story straight out of a 1980s high-concept comedy: Renee Bennett (Schumer) is a frustrated single woman in a dead-end job working for the online portal of beauty company Lily LeClaire.
The Tender Trap (1955)
Directed by Charles Walters
influenced He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Themes
Still, it's not so different from dating films of a half century ago (think The Tender Trap) that comically pointed out that goal-oriented dating for men (object: sex) was different from goal-oriented dating for women (object: relationship and marriage).
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Directed by Bill Condon
influenced by The Beautician and the Beast (1997)
Plot
Many have floundered trying to adapt the classic 1740 fairy tale upon which Disney based their animation, from the Fran Drescher-starring The Beautician And The Beast to the equally ropey recent French version, which paired Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel.
Ginnifer Goodwin (2007's " In the Land of Women ") is adorable as the neurotic, unlucky-in-love Gigi, as close as the film gets to a lead role.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Directed by Cathy Yan
influenced by The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Themes
This R-rated adaptation mixes the nastiness of Joker with the camaraderie of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants .
Folks, "Annie Hall" was 93 minutes long.
The odd cast member out is co-producer Drew Barrymore (2007's " Music and Lyrics "), as the lovelorn Mary.
Writers Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein ("Never Been Kissed") don't flatter their target market by making the female characters flawless princesses and all the men toads.
The screenplay, by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (the duo behind “Never Been Kissed,” finally getting work again), is full of people waxing philosophical about love, dating, and marriage, but very little of what they say is clever or funny.
Neither the director of the vomitable License to Wed (2007), nor the screenwriters (Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein) of Never Been Kissed (1999), nor the largely B-list cast exactly engendered keen anticipation.
Instead, director Ken Kwapis (2007's " License to Wed ") and screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (1999's " Never Been Kissed ") treat both sexes with an equal fair hand.
Directed by Ken Kwapis (“License to Wed,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and adapted by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (“Never Been Kissed”) from the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, “He’s Just Not That Into You” begins with a poop joke and that pretty much says it all.
“Midsommar” is its own kind of horrific cautionary tale, a floral, psychedelic, “He’s Just Not That Into You” for modern movie-going culture; a “Get Out” warning about relationships.
That Awkward Moment (2014)
Directed by Tom Gormican
influenced by He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Themes
It’s not as laboriously dumb as the overloaded ensemble rom-coms of Garry Marshall ( Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve) or the similarly star-studded He’s Just Not That Into You .
Like so many movies, it's basically a bunch of young people dealing with love and dating and relationships, to the point where Tom Gormican's directorial debut at first comes across like one of those movies based on a relationship advice book ala "He's Just Not That Into You," only this one being from a young male perspective.
Justin Long (2007's " Live Free or Die Hard ") impresses in one of his first real grown-up roles as Alex, Gigi's potential soul mate if only he would realize what is right in front of him (this is where "Some Kind of Wonderful" comes in).
Jennifer Aniston (2008's " Marley & Me ") and Scarlett Johansson (2008's " The Spirit ") steal their scenes as two of the more complicated internal characters.
Twilight (2008)
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
influenced by The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Themes
Twilight is for girls who have outgrown The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but aren't quite old enough for Sex and the City , and that represents a potentially significant box office power.
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
Directed by Sharon Maguire
influenced He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
Plot
This movie was so much better when it was called “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and didn’t have plugs for Home Depot and CVS.
Based on the thinnest of sourcesa pamphlet-sized advice book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, itself taken from a Sex And The City episode more memorable for Charlotte's overzealous conversion to JudaismHe's Just Not That Into You unfolds into a rom-com phantasmagoria of Love Actually proportions.
The movie plays like "Love Actually" with half the brains and none of the nerve.
Jennifer Aniston (2008's " Marley & Me ") and Scarlett Johansson (2008's " The Spirit ") steal their scenes as two of the more complicated internal characters.