If you are searching for a lightweight comedy with some clever acting (especially Reese Witherspoon) then I can recommend this movie. If you are searching for a film with any insight about overcoming stereotypes (even the usual banal Hollywood offering), then look elsewhere.
Although the plot was predictable, there were some funny moments that I enjoyed. Reese Witherspoon is a talented actress (both comedic and dramatic) and I look forward to seeing her in future roles. But, beyond the level of a predictable comedy, no one should look for any depth in this movie.
SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW. For those of you (and apparently there are a few) who feel a desire to find a message in this movie, I need point out only one fundamentally flawed character (amongst many possible choices) for whom we are apparently supposed to feel compassion (because she is being stereotyped), but who is in fact detestable -- Brooke Taylor-Windham (played by Ali Larter). A woman who marries an older man (apparently because she likes the sex) but feels no compassion for the man's daughter (who is seemingly distraught about having a step-mother of about the same age as she). A woman who deceives her clients in order to make money. A woman who demeans her employees (she makes the pool man wear a thong because she likes the way he looks when he bends over). And yet we are supposed to cheer when she fires her lawyer (played by Victor Garber) because he is a creep (which he is). Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
The movie itself contains so many stereotypes (e.g., Dorky Dave, who can't get a date without Elle's noble intervention, while she herself only dates good-looking guys) that there is no reason to look beyond the comedic element for something deeper (it doesn't exist). Enjoy it for what it is, nothing more.
Although the plot was predictable, there were some funny moments that I enjoyed. Reese Witherspoon is a talented actress (both comedic and dramatic) and I look forward to seeing her in future roles. But, beyond the level of a predictable comedy, no one should look for any depth in this movie.
SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW. For those of you (and apparently there are a few) who feel a desire to find a message in this movie, I need point out only one fundamentally flawed character (amongst many possible choices) for whom we are apparently supposed to feel compassion (because she is being stereotyped), but who is in fact detestable -- Brooke Taylor-Windham (played by Ali Larter). A woman who marries an older man (apparently because she likes the sex) but feels no compassion for the man's daughter (who is seemingly distraught about having a step-mother of about the same age as she). A woman who deceives her clients in order to make money. A woman who demeans her employees (she makes the pool man wear a thong because she likes the way he looks when he bends over). And yet we are supposed to cheer when she fires her lawyer (played by Victor Garber) because he is a creep (which he is). Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
The movie itself contains so many stereotypes (e.g., Dorky Dave, who can't get a date without Elle's noble intervention, while she herself only dates good-looking guys) that there is no reason to look beyond the comedic element for something deeper (it doesn't exist). Enjoy it for what it is, nothing more.