SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (2003) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau and Paul Michael Glaser. Music by Hans Zimmer. Written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx: 122 mins.
When an irresistible force such as Jack Nicholson meets an irrepressible object such as Diane Keaton, you know Something's Gotta Give.
What gives are some laughs and a bittersweet and refreshing December-December romance involving two strong-willed people set in their ways.
Nancy Meyers' script, which she also directed, can be subtitled `When Harry Met Erica.'
Because the first time they met, he was standing in his underwear by her refrigerator and she mistook him for a burglar -- or a pervert. From such acorns giant romances blossom.
Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, a perennial bachelor with a proclivity for younger women. His current infatuation is Marin (Amanda Peet). It is Marin's mother, Erica (Keaton), who, not expecting her daughter and friend, mistakes Harry for an intruder.
Erica takes an immediate dislike to Harry, so you know from the outset they are fated to wind up together. It's a tradition in romantic comedy. Nor is it spoiling anything by revealing such information.
Because the fun rests, not in the outcome, but in the journey.
At dinner, Harry tries his best -- and fails -- to charm Erica. Later, preparing for a little bedtime romp with Marin, Harry suffers a heart attack and is rushed to a nearby hospital, where he is treated by a young doctor (Keanu Reeves), who is immediately smitten with Erica.
After spending a few days in the hospital, Harry is released, but complications ensue that force him to spend some more time convalescing at Erica's home, where the pair, now alone, slowly get to know each other and come to appreciate their similarities.
Something's Gotta Give works because of the magnetism of its two stars and the chemistry they generate.
It also helps that Meyers has played off the public's perception of her performers in molding their characters. We think of Nicholson as this Lothario, a roguish ladies man dating and bedding women half his age.
Keaton's image is that of an actress with a quirky personality and unconventional fashion sense. This was created mainly through her work in Woody Allen films -- specifically Annie Hall -- and it builds within the audience certain expectations about her character.
Erica is a famous playwright who, divorced after 20 years of marriage, has thrown herself into her work, using her writing as a crutch for not having a social life.
Harry and Erica chip away at each other, slowly breaking down their defenses until nothing is left, but to fall in love. Erica reluctantly succumbs, not wanting to allow herself to again become emotionally vulnerable.
Of course, being a movie, the road to love is pockmarked with many bumps and detours - some of which are standard for the genre. Still, it's a road worth traveling because of two veteran pros such as Nicholson and Keaton.
Something's Gotta Give is disarming, charming, sweet and sexy. It's a movie that is easy to fall in love with.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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