Release Date: February 6, 2009

(out of 4)

By casting nearly a dozen appealing actors "He’s Just Not That Into You" is striving to become the ultimate relationship movie. Look at the list of names: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kris Kristofferson and Justin Long. I liked all of these actors going in, and for the most part, I liked them all even more after I walked out of this incisive comedy of women choosing the wrong mates. The screenplay feels like a constant commentary on contemporary bad mating selection.

The movie of course is based on the nonfiction bestseller by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, former writers on the “Sex and the City” HBO series. Their no-nonsense book touches a chord on how women manage to attach to emotionally unavailable men who use them and dump them abruptly. It is probably the most entertaining and relevant book that can be read entirely in 45 movies flat that I’ve come across. The movie’s duty is to dramatize select scenarios from the book.

Such as why would someone like Beth (Aniston) remain in a relationship with Neil (Affleck) for seven years when he has no intention of marrying her? It feels more like a knife piercing the heart when Beth’s way younger sister is going to tie the knot before she does, making Beth the butt of her family’s jokes. Gigi (Goodwin) goes out on dates with men who don’t call her a week later but still obsesses about them beyond all reason. Janine (Jen Connelly) remains in a strained marriage with a closed book named Ben (Cooper), whom contemplates an affair with bombshell Anna (Johansson), with Conor (Kev Connolly) as the sincere hard-working professional also in love with Anna whom only calls him when she’s got troubles. Throw in a few more interlocking stories and you got an ensemble movie.

The astute dating expert in the movie is Alex (Long), a manager/bartender who begins mentoring Gigi in translating the signs and moving on. "He’s Just Not That Into You" if the date says he’s leaving town tomorrow and not going to be back in a few weeks but not sure of a specific return date. Gigi and Alex begin platonically, and then Gigi gets the sign that Alex might actually like her and that she should make the first move. But Alex has already taught her that if a guy hasn’t asked a girl out the reason is "He’s Just Not That Into You."

The movie is competently directed by Ken Kwapis (the agreeably mild “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the atrocious “License to Wed” are among his credits), and despite his cookie cutter sitcom staging, the actors nevertheless do everything to transform and enlighten the material. Kwapis is such a negligent director that he barely establishes the city of Baltimore where his movie is set, forgetting such things as ambience and environment as flavorful components to the story. In one scene with Johannson and Cooper, the director places them in the foreground of an anonymous brick wall, posting his actors against an abundance of empty space. Not good directing. And I must mention that Drew Barrymore is sorely under-utilized.

Yet I counted three great scenes in the movie, which has more to do with the actors and screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein’s contribution than with anyone else. When I say great scenes, I mean, highly memorable scenes that etched their way into my personal study and reflection days after I saw the movie.

All three of these qualifying great scenes had to do with the Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Connelly and Scarlett Johansson triangle. The ever-fetching Johansson makes a light night dip in the pool sound more erotically tempting that it would sound out of someone else’s mouth. Following is a blatant confession as an indirect cry to end a relationship that unwittingly deepens and intensifies that same relationship. And ultimately, an unwanted visit at work becomes a hair-raising juggling act.

The actors pull off all their scenes engagingly with the right note of desperation when called for without straining for effect. I could have done without Kris Kristofferson’s heart attack. What at all does that have to do with the thesis of the film? Yet nearly everything else works and the actors make us care, and we in turn care to laugh at their foibles. The power of the screenplay alone makes this a better movie than last summer’s “Sex and the City” movie which was never as good as the initial three seasons of the series. And I wouldn’t mind seeing an extended DVD cut of this flick with more scenes featuring the under-utilized Drew Barrymore and also Scarlett Johansson just because I can never get enough of her. Justin Long, too, he’s a real card.