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Director Nancy Meyers, in her third effort, SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, cements her place in a sisterhood of gifted directors (Penny Marshall, Nora Ephron, Elaine May) who truly understand men, and can create a 'chick flick' that doesn't caricature our endangered species! Her previous effort, WHAT WOMEN WANT, not only gave Mel Gibson the most 'well-rounded' comic role of his career, but revealed a talent in song and dance that Gibson had never previously demonstrated (with the revival of musicals, one can only hope that Mel will get a shot at displaying those talents again).With SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, Meyers turns her magic to 66-year old screen legend Jack Nicholson, creating a character that more fully exhibits and explores his famous persona than any other film "Smilin' Jack" has ever made...and even takes him to task, occasionally!Even more impressively, she gives Diane Keaton, at 57, her finest screen role in years, and reminds audiences that actresses don't HAVE to be under 30 to be desirable, with a character who is wise, funny, vulnerable, and...dare I say it...still enormously sexy!The story involves a planned weekend tryst between a young Christie's broker (Amanda Peet, in another of her recent 'star-making' roles), and famous record producer Harry Sanborn (Nicholson), a wise-cracking, worldly Lothario in sunglasses, famous for never dating a woman under 35. At her mother's empty beach house, their liaison is interrupted by the arrival of her mom, playwright Erica Barry (Keaton), and her aunt (Frances McDormand, who is fabulous, firing 'robbing the cradle' one-liners back and forth with Nicholson). Despite a tacit agreement to share the house, Harry is so stressed that he has a heart attack during foreplay, saved only by Erica's reluctant CPR. At the hospital, she meets handsome surgeon Keanu Reeves, who is a fan of her work, and is immediately smitten by her.Ordered by Reeves to recuperate at Barry's home, Sanborn gets to accidentally see her naked, and gradually discovers the infinite pleasures of 'older' women, while Barry, resigned to being alone, rediscovers her sexuality and ability to love. Unfortunately, 'love' is NOT a word in Sanborn's vocabulary, and, confused by his emotions, he returns to his party life in New York.Devastated by his departure, she begins an affair with the young doctor, and turns Sanborn's visit into the basis of a play (with her achieving 'closure' by killing his character off!) Her actions put Sanborn BACK into the hospital again, TWICE, before he realizes the full impact she has had on him...Can Sanborn learn from his mistakes? Will Sanborn and Barry find happiness together? Will the pair make the Paris rendezvous they planned when in the heat of passion? Can Barry give up her turtlenecks, and Sanborn, his Viagra?Full of witty observations about facing "life after 50" (with menopause presented, for once, in a favorable light), SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE is a wise, funny testament about 'growing up' without 'growing old', underscored by classic French tunes (the French, after all, understand the ageless nature of love far better than more 'youth-driven' Americans). While the film won't have you yearning for your 'golden years', it may help some 'over-50' viewers feel less depressed about no longer being 35!If for that alone, Nancy Myers deserves a Valentine!
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