Review: 'How Do You Know?' stretches it thin

Film: How do you know?
Cast: Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson
Director: James L.Brooks
Rating: * ½

It appears that James L Brooks hopes his film’s A-list star cast
will fill-up the damning holes (visible from a mile away) in his
myopic screenplay. Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson and Owen Wilson are big ticket actors who can draw in the crowds but in this film they are merely puppets on a string-one that is too flimsy to hold strong for long!

At the centre is a love triangle between Olympic softball athlete
Lisa(Reese Witherspoon), pro-baseball lothario, Matty(Owen Wilson) and out-of-work underdog George(Paul Rudd) and there’s his cunning Dad(Jack Nicholson) thrown in as an attempt to garnish this seedy unappetising tale. George is the target of a federal investigation thanks to his father’s shenanigans while Lisa is trying to cope while in a disastrous relationship with Matty. George wants Lisa and he has the rest of the movie to get her to want him and convince her he is worth the trouble.

The lady takes quite a lot of time to decide between her two diametrically different suitors- one a narcissistic himbo and another an irritating ninny, no wonder the interim is exhausting and unyielding to say the least. A near two hours of runtime  stretches on interminably in the search for Lisa’s true love.

Cryptic dialogues, ludicrous situations and laboured performances keep the narrative heavy-laden.