There’s a short film making the rounds of the internet in which Justin Long, Kevin Connolly, and Bradley Cooper, who play some of the male characters in He’s Just Not That Into You, argue that the film is not a chick flick because it lacks any of the usual chick flick clichés, 10 of which they demonstrate. (“No make-over montage; no speech where a guy tells a girl all the little things he loves about her,” etc.) It’s a moderately amusing little film. But guys, it’s still a chick flick. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I point it out to reassure the women who are into this sort of thing that the filmmakers haven’t ruined the genre by making the male characters three-dimensional human beings.

Based on a popular relationship guidebook by a pair of writers who did a lot of work on Sex and the City (caveat emptor right there), HJNTIY uses a loosely connected cast of Baltimore yuppies (and their invariably fabulous brick apartments and workplaces) to demonstrate the many ways in which men can insensitively mash the hopes and dreams of trusting women beneath their unwashed gym shoes. The cast consists of Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, and, looking like the second coming of Anna Nicole Smith, Scarlett Johansson. I would try to trace out the tangled relationships among them for you but we only have 56 pages this issue. Not that it matters—there’s no real attempt at drama here, just a net for as many anecdotes on the subject of “Why are men such bastards?” as can be crammed into a two hour and ten minute film. I don’t pretend to speak for women (or for other men, for that matter), but if I were one I might be insulted by the way all the female characters here seem concerned with nothing other than dating and, inevitably, marriage. The male characters, straight and gay, are handled with even less verisimilitude, but a movie like this is clearly not concerned with their reactions. HJNITY sent me out of the theater whistling happily, but only because it uses the Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” under the end credits. Otherwise, what can I say? I just wasn’t that into it.

—m. faust

Artvoice is giving away He's Just Not Into You prize packs, featuring the bestselling book by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo and the original motion picture soundtrack along with other fun giveaways! Sign up for our random drawing here. Entry is free, and will be open through February 9th.