Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Munn and Christina Hendricks star in I Don’t Know How She Does It, a comedy from director Douglas McGrath (Emma, Infamous) and producer Donna Gigliotti (The Reader, Let Me In). Based on the critically acclaimed bestseller by Allison Pearson, I Don’t Know How She Does It follows a Boston-based working mother trying desperately to juggle marriage, children, and a high-stress job.
Kate Reddy (Parker) devotes her days to her job with a Boston-based financial management firm. At night she goes home to her adoring, recently-downsized architect husband Richard (Kinnear) and their two young children. It’s a non-stop balancing act, the same one that Kate’s acerbic best friend and fellow working mother Allison (Christina Hendricks) performs on a daily basis, and that Kate’s super-brainy, child-phobic young junior associate Momo (Olivia Munn) fully intends to avoid. When Kate gets handed a major new account that will require frequent trips to New York, Richard also wins the new job he’s been hoping for and both will be spreading themselves even thinner. Complicating matters is Kate’s charming new business associate Jack Abelhammer (Brosnan), who begins to prove an unexpected source of temptation.The archetypal single gal from Sex and the City dives into family life in I Don’t Know How She Does It. Kate Reddy, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, could easily be Carrie Bradshaw’s alternate life: a rising finance analyst, Kate feels guilty for short-changing her husband (Greg Kinnear) and two children. When she gets the opportunity to work with a high-powered exec (Pierce Brosnan), the already tense family relationship gets stretched to the breaking point and Kate has to make some hard choices. I Don’t Know How She Does It is pure formula, but executed well. The entire cast (also including Christina Hendricks as a single-mom best friend, Kelsey Grammer as an overbearing boss, Seth Meyers as a sniping rival, and a scene-stealing Olivia Munn as Kate’s assistant) play their parts with skill, while Parker’s rapport with Kinnear is particularly warm and persuasive. Moreover, you have to admire the sheer chutzpah of hammering home political points about double standards in the workplace and then delivering a fairy-tale ending. Men have realized the importance of family over work in dozens upon dozens of cookie-cutter heartwarming flicks; apparently it’s time that women got the opportunity to do the same. No doubt this signifies some important cultural shift; college theses are waiting to be written about it. –Bret Fetzer
Dated Stereotypes, Stale Humor, And Sexist Notions Spell Another Misfire For The Talented Miss Parker I have been such a huge fan of Sarah Jessica Parker since before it was fashionable (yes, I’m old enough to have watched Square Pegs in its original airing), but I wonder why she can’t seem to pick a movie script lately that has half of the wit and intelligence of HBO’s “Sex and the City.” Even the “Sex and the City” movies (especially the second one) lacked the energy and humor of the TV series. “I Don’t Know How She Does It” is just the latest unfortunate misfire. The well worn premise is so dated and tired, I don’t even know where to begin. If you think that women working in the professional arena is a new or novel phenomenon, this movie might be for you with its antiquated ideas and expected punchlines. It has all the modernity of a Doris Day film with its insulting and old-fashioned notions. From the get-go, the movie lets us know that Parker is both a terrific mother and a fantastic career woman. Problem is–the screenplay really never makes the case that either of these points is true. Oh how can a woman possibly juggle a career and family? Apparently a lot of lying is the key–whether to the bake sale committee or to your boss, it’s all the same and absolutely adorable!Parker has a seemingly idyllic life with her husband (an underutilized Greg Kinnear) and two kids. She manages to be wildly successful at work even though she embodies every negative cliche about working mothers that you can possibly imagine. She shows up late, always has food stains on her clothes, is in perpetual disarray, and generally just bumbles about. That’s okay, she’s a mother (with a full time child care worker no less) so it’s expected that she would be a harried mess. When she accidentally sends sexually suggestive emails to an important client, it’s endearing (when in reality, who would do business with a “professional” who can’t even manage their personal emails?) Never mind that Parker is completely unconvincing, the film has plenty of others to insult. All of the men at work are dismissive and/or conniving. Again, what decade is this? Women have been a part of the workforce for quite some time now! But the most loathsome portrait of all is saved for stay-at-home moms. They are vindictive and judgmental harridans who occupy their days with selfish pursuits instead of working.Parker relies, as always, on her nervous energy and clumsiness to mine for physical comedy. She’s such a hugely talented actress, though, I’d like to see her dig a little deeper for a change. There’s no reason why she isn’t among the best in her field. Kinnear brings an easy charm to his largely unexplored second fiddle role. And Pierce Brosnan (as the previously mentioned client who works with Parker on a huge project) has a refreshing deadpan that enlivens the scenes that he’s in. Even he gets smitten by the lice-ridden Parker. Why not? There are moments in “I Don’t Know How She Does It” that are amusing, but the film strains for sentimentality as well. If you think that Miss Parker can’t have it all, well then you underestimate her pluck. There are a lot of humorous movies that detail the challenges of working women and mothers everywhere (whether in central themes or peripheral plotlines). “I Don’t Know How She Does It” misses the mark with its sexist and dated viewpoints–and worse, its stale jokes. I liked Kinnear and Brosnan, but the screenplay could use a real dose of tartness and reality. KGHarris, 12/11.
A wonderful family movie! I think the movie portrays the working-family mother Excellently. She works hard at work and at home and does her best to try and balance her professional and personal life while at the same time avoiding temptation too.Great movie I loved it, Even thought it took me over 3 hrs to finish it because the connection kept cutting off and reloading. Jessica parker did an Awesome job in this movie!
Cute Movie Just what I expceted, love this movie, huge Sarah Jesscia Parker fan. Cute chic flick. Happy to add this to my dvd collection.