CS Daily Archive > DVD of the Day > 04/01/04

Smart Script Gives Mature Comedy a Little Something Extra

BY YON MOTSKIN

This sleek, sophisticated Hollywood romantic comedy is a pleasure to watch because of its smart (if familiar) script and its star's insightful commentary.

Nancy Meyers

Harry Sanborn (Nicholson) is a successful sixty- something record producer with an insatiable appetite for younger women, such as current lover Marin (Amanda Peet). When Harry has a heart attack at Marin's house in the Hamptons, he finds himself being taken care of -- and taken by -- Marin's mother Erica (Diane Keaton). Will the cooing couple maintain their romance back in the city, or will the young doctor (Keanu Reeves) who lusts after Erica come between them? As the title suggests . . .

What ground is left to cover for romantic comedies? Does the genre finally need to hibernate for a few decades and then return -- with fresh ideas, energy, and a touch of irony -- like the Western? Some might say that anything you can do, Ernst Lubitsch, Howard Hawks, and Billy Wilder did better. The disastrous first meeting, changing your stubborn ways for the one you love, the final kiss -- we've seen it all before, haven't we?

Writer-director Nancy Meyers (1998's The Parent Trap remake) wrote this script specifically for Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, which is how she makes this story work. The script is tailor-made for its stars' past personas: Jack as a stubborn womanizer, Diane as a neurotic, older Annie Hall. While the story is not groundbreaking -- all of the above-mentioned conventions (and more) are employed -- it is the writer's understanding of what her audience desires that makes the experience satisfying. In the process, Meyers flips a few minor surprises at us (such as seeing both of the stars naked).

We know Jack and Diane will fall in love. We pretty much know how. We just want to enjoy the process -- and Nancy Meyers lets us.

- Commentary by Nancy Meyers, Diane Keaton, and producer Bruce A. Block
- Commentary by Nancy Meyers and Jack Nicholson
- Deleted scene ("Harry Sings Karaoke to Erica")
- "Hamptons House Set Tour with Amanda Peet"
- Cast and crew filmographies
- Theatrical previews

What saves these extras from going south is the commentary by writer/director Nancy Meyers and Jack Nicholson. Although sometimes it sounds like Meyers is simply cozying up to Nicholson so he'll star in her next movie ("Wow, that's so insightful, Jack, I never thought of that"), she restrains herself long enough to ask him a number of technical and story-related questions. Although discussing the script from an actor's point of view, Nicholson cites subtle elements of character development and foreshadowing that were planted early on in the script.

From a writer's standpoint, it's also a relief to hear Meyers, an experienced and established industry screenwriter, pondering whether her "little tricks of emphasis for actors" (italics, bold, and the famous three dots) actually work. "I cross 'em out anyway," retorts Jack.

While not groundbreaking, Nancy Meyers' script succeeds in rising above the standard studio fare because it provides the audience with what it wants -- smart, sophisticated, and sexy scenes of stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. The DVD extras are worthwhile for Nicholson's friendly, candid comments on craft.

Something's Gotta Give
Columbia TriStar
PG-13; 128 min.
Street date: March 30, 2004
$28.95

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Writer-director Yon Motskin is a recent graduate of the New York University film program. He is currently in preproduction on his first feature, Cutman, a dark boxing drama based on his award-winning short which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and will screen at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

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