Love Happens (Universal)
Rated PG-13 for some language including sexual references.
Starring Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer, John Carroll Lynch and Martin Sheen.
Written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson.
Directed by Brandon Camp.
GRADE: B-
REVIEWI usually don't like it when a movie's preview trailer advertises one thing, and the film itself turns out to be something completely different. The exception is a film that has a trailer that doesn't do it justice and I'm pleasantly surprised.
Love Happens, unfortunately falls under the former category, advertising one kind of movie and delivering another.
Aaron Eckhart stars as Burke Ryan, a self-help guru specializing in grief management. Burke's wife was killed in a car crash three years prior, and his book on grief has made him a star, speaking at week-long seminars and attending book signings. When his next seminar reaches Seattle, Burke runs into a florist in the hotel lobby named Eloise (Jennifer Aniston) and decides its time to start dating again. She rejects him at first, but the two eventually give dating a try.
Along the way, Eloise discovers that Burke, while genuinely committed to helping others deal with the loss of their own loved ones, has some deep, sad issues in finding closure with respect to the death of his wife. Among those issues is the fact that he did not attend his wife's funeral, hasn't spoken with his wife's father (Martin Sheen) and has refused to acknowledge his role in the car crash that took her life.
In the end, Burke has to choose whether to be the physician who heals himself or continue to wallow in his private grief while living a hypocritical life as grief expert.
That bait-and-switch scenario between the trailers and the actual film is the first problem I have with
Love Happens. The movie bills itself as a romantic comedy, but it is neither very romantic or funny. Some of the supporting cast offer a few chuckles, like the career-sidekick Judy Greer as Eloise's flowers hop employee/friend, and the up-and-coming Dan Fogler as Burke's driven business manager. The romance that is supposed to bloom between Burke and Eloise never actually takes root. Aniston is definitely the leading woman in the movie, and has a lot of scenes with Eckhart, but it's almost like she's barely there.
The other part of the
Love Happens "fake-out" is that it deals with a whole lot of drama, like grief and reconciliation. Eckhart does an adequate job as the conflicted self-help guy in need of help, and has a few very dramatic scenes requiring some real acting chops. The trouble is, all that drama sure doesn't make for a standard date movie and is really kind of depressing.
Another issue that bugged me about
Love Happens is the blatant product placement in the movie. This sappy drama is brought to you by Qwest, Teleflora and Hyatt Hotels. I don't think I've seen so many closeups of particular corporate labels since 1990's Wayne's World spoofed the concept.
