Life or Something Like It: Movie Review, DVD Review (2002)
9/21/2007 Posted by Admin
Something like it? (Originally published 2002)
Directed by Stephen Herek, written John Scott Shepherd and Dana Stevens, 104 minutes, rated PG-13.
Stephen Herek's "Life or Something Like It" follows a tumultuous week in the life of Lanie Kerrigan, a Seattle-based TV news reporter whose identity is defined by her enormous platinum-blond blowout and an interview style that suggests more Brenda Starr than Greta Van Susteren.
That these qualities bring her national fame makes perfect sense in today’s culture of airheads filling up the airwaves. But are they enough to bring Lanie happiness? And should any of us really care whether they do?
The film, from a script by John Scott Shepherd and Dana Stevens, stars Angelina Jolie as Lanie, which means that in the course of a year, the Academy Award-winning actress has gone from being a mail-order tramp in "Original Sin" to a local television news personality whose hair is a sin.
Those in the know will wonder whether there’s a difference, but arguably there is. In Hollywood, getting off one’s back to perform in front of a camera is almost always considered a step up and cause for celebration.
In the film, Lanie's shallow life gets the jolt it needs when a homeless prophet named Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub, redefining Seattle grunge) informs her during an interview that she has only a week to live.
After dismissing the comment as trash, Lanie is forced to think otherwise when a series of Jack’s other predictions mysteriously come true.
Now convinced death is imminent, she takes a hard look at herself, her vacuous baseball star of a boyfriend, her perfect apartment and her empty life, and—surprise!—doesn’t like what she sees. A romance with a down-to-earth cameraman played by Edward Burns goes a long way in getting Lanie back on track before fate intervenes and does its thing.
What’s interesting about "Life or Something Like It" is that in spite of all this--the weak premise, the big hair, the sexism and the stereotypes--it isn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s pure formula, for sure, but the chemistry between Jolie and Burns isn’t manufactured. They have something on screen that transcends the material and reshapes it, turning the movie into a romantic comedy that wouldn’t have been nearly as watchable without them in it.
Grade: B-
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Directed by Stephen Herek, written John Scott Shepherd and Dana Stevens, 104 minutes, rated PG-13.
Stephen Herek's "Life or Something Like It" follows a tumultuous week in the life of Lanie Kerrigan, a Seattle-based TV news reporter whose identity is defined by her enormous platinum-blond blowout and an interview style that suggests more Brenda Starr than Greta Van Susteren.
That these qualities bring her national fame makes perfect sense in today’s culture of airheads filling up the airwaves. But are they enough to bring Lanie happiness? And should any of us really care whether they do?
The film, from a script by John Scott Shepherd and Dana Stevens, stars Angelina Jolie as Lanie, which means that in the course of a year, the Academy Award-winning actress has gone from being a mail-order tramp in "Original Sin" to a local television news personality whose hair is a sin.
Those in the know will wonder whether there’s a difference, but arguably there is. In Hollywood, getting off one’s back to perform in front of a camera is almost always considered a step up and cause for celebration.
In the film, Lanie's shallow life gets the jolt it needs when a homeless prophet named Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub, redefining Seattle grunge) informs her during an interview that she has only a week to live.
After dismissing the comment as trash, Lanie is forced to think otherwise when a series of Jack’s other predictions mysteriously come true.
Now convinced death is imminent, she takes a hard look at herself, her vacuous baseball star of a boyfriend, her perfect apartment and her empty life, and—surprise!—doesn’t like what she sees. A romance with a down-to-earth cameraman played by Edward Burns goes a long way in getting Lanie back on track before fate intervenes and does its thing.
What’s interesting about "Life or Something Like It" is that in spite of all this--the weak premise, the big hair, the sexism and the stereotypes--it isn’t as bad as it sounds. It’s pure formula, for sure, but the chemistry between Jolie and Burns isn’t manufactured. They have something on screen that transcends the material and reshapes it, turning the movie into a romantic comedy that wouldn’t have been nearly as watchable without them in it.
Grade: B-
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movie reviewsmovie-reviewsmoviesfilmfilm reviewsdvddvd reviewsromantic comedy 
January 14, 2011 at 9:40 PM
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