He's Just Not That Into You

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about He's Just Not That Into You's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of He's Just Not That Into You completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 9 February 2009.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie He's Just Not That Into You contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a young woman who is unlucky in love and is having trouble meeting the right man. She tells her woes to barman, Alex (Justin Long), who enlightens her as to what messages men are really sending out. Gigi also confides in work mate Janine (Jennifer Connelly) who appears to be happily married to Ben (Bradley Cooper). Ben, however, has fallen in love with the seductive Anna (Scarlett Johansson).

The story becomes more complex with a number of interconnecting relationships which challenge the ideals of marriage and fidelity and the predictability of human behaviour.

Themes

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Relationships; marriage and divorce

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is violence in this movie including:

• A young boy pushes a little girl over in the playground and tells her she smells of dog pooh.
• Janine smashes a mirror and throws all of Ben’s things out
• A number of heated verbal arguments.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

Apart from the scenes above, there are no scenes likely to be of concern

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Nothing of concern

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Nothing of concern

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Marlborough cigarettes
• American Spirit cigarettes

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• Discussion about who’s slept with whom
• Ben tells Janine he’s slept with another woman
• Gay relationships are mentioned – how they pick each other up.
  

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• No actual nudity but Anna strips off her clothes and jumps in a pool – nothing seen
• Anna is also shown in sexy underwear
• Implications of sex but nothing too graphic
• Anna and Ben are shown kissing and fondling each other – they’re about to have sex in Ben’s office but are interrupted
• A couple is shown in bed together after sex.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Drinking of alcohol at various venues – at home, in pubs, parties, etc.
• Ben smokes but lies about it.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Oh my God
• shit
• bullshit
• dipshit
• arse
• arsehole
• Christ
• Jesus
• fuck

The movie's message

He’s Just Not That Into You is a romantic comedy, with an excellent cast, about relationships and the common mistakes that people make. Its themes make it more suited to older teenagers and adults.

The main messages from this movie are about realising what is important in making a relationship work and whether happiness can only be found in love.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as

• the effects of casual sex and relationships
• commitment and fidelity in marriage