Can a movie review consist of only three words, “I loved it?” Or is that too little?
“Life as We Know It,” starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, is a romantic comedy about two single adults who unexpectedly gain joint custody of their recently deceased friends’ daughter. The film follows the lives of this newly-formed family and their many firsts, like suburban barbeques and poopy diapers.
The movie is what every chick flick should be. It has the I’m-too-attractive-to-make-plans guy and the obsessive compulsive, I-can-get-a-guy-I-just-don’t-have-one girl, who initially reject each other like oil and water, but then unexpectedly get thrown together in a turn of events that only Hollywood could create.
The opening sequences tell of Holly (Heigl) and Messer (Duhamel)’s first meeting, showing that they are as different as a Harley and a smart car. The film then introduces the audience to their relationship years earlier, which is an understanding that they are only friends because of their mutual friends, Allison and Peter, who have named them godparents of their daughter Sophie. Just when you don’t want the inevitable to happen, Allison and Peter die leaving Sophie in the hands of the surprised and equally– unequipped Holly and Messer.
One of the essential aspects of any chick flick is the onscreen chemistry between the actors. Heigl and Duhamel step outside of their lives and into the lives of Holly and Messer, creating two individuals that for two hours, I knew intimately. They argued, laughed, yelled, smiled, talked, and cried like, well, two single adults being thrown into joint parenthood. But more than that, they were two individuals that I was cheering for throughout.
This onscreen chemistry was fueled by an engaging script and witty dialogue. The film was filled with endless one-liners that we, girls, are bound to use in everyday lingo — much like the chick flick answer to “The Hangover.” And even despite its Hollywood fingerprints, the script succeeded in providing a storyline that not only entertains the audience, but brings us along the rollercoaster ride that is raising a child.
“Life as We Know It” is a film for a first date, for a mom and dad’s night out, and for any girl who is a sucker for a classic romcom.
