Something's Gotta Give (film)

Plot

Harry Sanborn is a wealthy New York City record company owner who only dates women under 30, including his latest girlfriend, Marin Klein. The two drive to her mother's Hamptons beach house, expecting to be alone. However, Marin's mother, playwright Erica Barry, and aunt Zoe arrive unexpectedly.

After an awkward dinner, the night turns disastrous when—during foreplay with Marin—Harry has a heart attack and is rushed to a hospital. The attending doctor, Julian Mercer, tells Harry to stay nearby for a few days, so he reluctantly stays with Erica. Complicating matters, Julian is a fan of Erica's work and is clearly attracted to her.

Erica and Harry's personalities clash and create awkward living arrangements at first, but they soon find charming qualities in each other and begin to form a connection. Harry's relationship with Marin and Erica's budding relationship with Julian become obstacles to their growing attraction.

Marin tells her mother she will break up with Harry, but he ends things first. Harry and Erica spend more time together and eventually have sex. Julian tells Harry he has improved enough to return to the city. He and Erica share an awkward goodbye, as despite their strong feelings, Harry is clearly hesitant to enter into a relationship.

Marin receives news that her father and Erica's ex-husband, Dave Klein, is getting remarried to a doctor only two years older than Marin. Though Erica is unaffected by the news, Marin is devastated and pressures her mother into accompanying her to a dinner.

At dinner, Erica sees Harry at another table with a much younger woman. An argument follows and Erica confesses that she is in love with him, but when Harry does not seem to reciprocate, Erica ends things between them and leaves. Harry suffers from what he believes is another heart attack, but in the emergency room he is told it was a panic attack.

Devastated, Erica returns home where she cries almost nonstop for several weeks. She pours her heartbreak into a new play about a woman who falls in love with her daughter's boyfriend, titling it "A Woman to Love," a phrase Harry had used to describe Erica. Harry hears about the play and rushes to the theater, where it is being rehearsed.

Despite her denials, it is obvious that Erica has used the most personal details of their affair in the play. When Harry tells her he still cares about her, she rebuffs him. After learning his character dies in the play, he suffers another panic attack. At the hospital, Harry is told he needs to de-stress, and relocates temporarily to the Bahamas.

Six months later, Erica's play is a huge success. Harry pays Marin a visit to apologize for any past disrespect, and discovers she is happily married and pregnant. Marin tells him Erica is in Paris celebrating her birthday. Harry flies there and surprises Erica at her favorite restaurant, where he tells her he has been reaching out to all the young women he had affairs with in an attempt to atone for his heartless behavior. Julian, whom Erica is now dating, appears.

Harry, Erica and Julian have dinner together, and part amicably outside the restaurant. While Harry gazes in heartache over the river Seine, Erica arrives. She tells him Julian realized she still loves Harry and has decided to step aside so they could be together. Harry tells Erica that at age 63, he is in love for the first time in his life, and they embrace.

A year later at a restaurant, the now-married Erica and Harry are out with Marin, her husband Danny and their new baby daughter, celebrating life as a loving family.

Cast

• Jack Nicholson as Harry Sanborn, 63, a self-satisfied playboy and socialite who owns ten companies, including a magazine and the second-largest hip hop label in the world. He only dates women under 30.
• Diane Keaton as Erica Barry, 56, a successful, divorced Broadway playwright who lives part of the time in an upscale Hamptons beach house. Having survived her divorce without huge bitterness, she lives a quiet life of professional fulfillment and romantic disappointment.
• Keanu Reeves as Julian Mercer, Harry's 36-year-old doctor. He is also a huge fan of Erica's, with whom he develops a relationship.
• Amanda Peet as Marin Klein, Erica's daughter, a 29-year-old auctioneer working for Christie's.
• Frances McDormand as Zoe, Erica's sister. She is a professor of lesbian feminist women's studies at Columbia University.
• Jon Favreau as Leo, Harry's personal assistant.
• Paul Michael Glaser as Dave Klein, Marin's father and Erica's ex-husband. He directs Erica's plays.
• Rachel Ticotin as Dr. Martinez, the ER doctor.
• KaDee Strickland as Kristen, Dave's fiancée. She is an ENT doctor and is two years older than Marin.
• Peter Spears as Danny Benjamin, Marin's husband (shown near the end of the film).

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on February 23, 2004, by Columbia Records. As of 2004, the soundtrack has sold 172,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

1. "La Vie en Rose" – Louis Armstrong
2. "I've Got a Crush on You" – Steve Tyrell
3. "I Only Have Eyes for You" – The Flamingos
4. "Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye
5. "So Nice (Summer Samba)" – Astrud Gilberto
6. "Remember Me" – Heitor Pereira
7. "Samba de mon cœur qui bat" – Coralie Clément
8. "Que reste-t-il de nos amours" – Charles Trenet
9. "Assedic" – Les Escrocs
10. "Je Cherche un Homme" – Eartha Kitt
11. "C'est si bon" – Eartha Kitt
12. "Brazil" – Django Reinhardt
13. "Sweet Lorraine" – Stephane Grappelli, Ilsa Eckinger, Ike Isaacs and Diz Disley
14. "Love Makes the World Go 'Round" – Deon Jackson
15. "La Vie en Rose" – Jack Nicholson
16. "Sunday Morning" - Maroon 5
17. "Learn How To Fall" – Paul Simon

The film was originally scored by Alan Silvestri and orchestrated by Tony Blondal; however, creative differences led to Silvestri being replaced at the last minute by members of Remote Control Productions. As Silvestri's music was already recorded, some of it remains in the film.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Something's Gotta Give holds an approval rating of 72% based on 172 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though it occasionally stumbles into sitcom territory, Something's Gotta Give is mostly a smart, funny romantic comedy, with sharp performances from Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.

Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, felt the performances of the film's stars, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, were among their best, and that Nicholson's acting, as his role covered a wider range of emotions, was the more complex. The reviewer praised the film for being a romantic comedy for adults:

Roger Ebert describes the film's dialogue as "smart". Although noting that Keanu Reeves's role "seems like nothing more than a walking plot complication", he praises the performances of Keaton and Nicholson: "A movie like this depends crucially on its stars. To complain that Nicholson is playing "himself" – or that Keaton is also playing a character very much like her public persona – is missing the point. Part of the appeal depends on the movie's teasing confusion of reality and fiction."

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
  • Nominated – Romantic Comedy Film

Home media

Something's Gotta Give was released on VHS on June 8, 2004, and DVD on March 30, 2004, by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video.

References

References

1. "Something's Gotta Give (2003)". The-Numbers.com.
2. (November 20, 2004). "2004's Top 30 Soundtracks".
3. "Something's Gotta Give (2003)".
4. "Something's Gotta Give Reviews".
5. "Cinemascore".
6. LaSalle, Mick. (December 12, 2003). "Finally, a grown-up love story – Nicholson and Keaton do maybe their best work ever as they create a nice, mellow glow in 'Something's Gotta Give'". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
7. Ebert, Roger. (December 12, 2003). "Something's Gotta Give". RogerEbert.com.
8. "Something's Gotta Give - IMDb".
9. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees".