9/17/2019

Something's Gotta Give (2003) - Meyers, Jack & Diane are a killer combo



+ Best Screen Couple of the Year: Jack Nicholson & Diane Keaton


Few stars are established enough that marketing their major film relies solely on their first names, but in the case of Nancy Meyers' Something's Gotta Give, the confidence is understandable


A middle-aged playwright gets an unexpected visit in her house in the Hamptons by her daughter and her much older boyfriend. SPOILER He has several heart attacks; she falls in love easily; he does not...

Something's Gotta Give is written and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Nancy Meyers (The Parent Trap (1998)).
It is a wonderful film of a rare breed that I don't mind admitting being a sucker for. It features grand acting from Diane Keaton (The Godfather: Part II (1974)), Jack Nicholson (The Rebel Rousers (1970)), Frances McDormand (Bleeding Hearts (1994)), Amanda Peet (Identity Thief (2013)) and Keanu Reeves (Ellie Parker (2005)). It is completely sweet and smartly written and directed. Meyers' grip on the romcom genre is eminent. My only (small) qualm is that the third act is a little long.

Related post:

Nancy MeyersIt's Complicated (2009) - Meyers' delightful romcom star vehicle

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 







Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 80 mil. $
Box office: 266.7 mil. $
=  Box office success (returned 3.33 times its cost)
[Something's Gotta Give was released 12 December (USA) and runs 128 minutes. Nicholson and Keaton had previously starred together in Reds (1981). Shooting took place in Paris, France and in California, including Los Angeles, and in New York from February - July 2003. The film opened #1 to a 16 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 4 weeks (#3-#4-#3-#5) and grossed 124.7 mil. $ (46.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Germany with 22.2 mil. $ (8.3 %) and the UK with 12.6 mil. $ (4.7 %). The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: Best Actress (Keaton), lost to Charlize Theron for Monster. The film won 1/2 Golden Globe nominations, a National Board of Review award and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3½/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Meyers returned with The Holiday (2006). Nicholson returned in The Departed (2006); Keaton in The Family Stone (2005). Something's Gotta Give is fresh at 72 % with a 6.6/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Something's Gotta Give?

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