Blu-ray Review: Insulting, Miscast ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’

CHICAGO – “I Don’t Know How She Does It” could have been just another misogynistic (you would never see “I Don’t Know How HE Does It”…the very title implies sexism) alleged comedy but it goes well beyond that partially because it features one of the worst screenplays of 2011 but also because it is easily one of the most miscast movies ever made. I liked HBO’s “Sex and the City” (not the movies) but Sarah Jessica Parker simply fits this role about as well as Gene Hackman would fit in the co-lead role of the sixth “Fast and the Furious” movie. She’s awkward, uncomfortable, and never once believable. It’s nearly fascinating like a car crash. Instead, it’s just awful.

Blu-ray Rating: 0.5/5.0

A stunning portion of the first act of “IDKHSDI” consists of lead character Kate Reddy (Parker) trying to turn her store-bought pie into something that looks homemade. Seriously, these are the characters in this film’s concept of serious problems — how other mothers look at their bake sale offerings. And someone thought this was dramatically weighty enough to be a movie. It should have been called “I Don’t Know How She Can Be So Shallow.”

As for Parker, she brings way too much Carrie Bradshaw to a role that needed to be an “Everywoman” in order to work in the slightest. Carrie wasn’t an everywoman. She wore the newest fashions, dated gorgeous men, and traveled in incredible social circles. People wanted to be her or her friends. She carries way too much of that character into this one, making her miscast in the entire film. The true shame is that there are some seriously talented people in the supporting cast, including Pierce Brosnan, Christina Hendricks, Olivia Munn, and Busy Philipps. We’re used to people like Kelsey Grammer and Seth Meyers slumming in bad comedies but even this one feels below their pay grade.

Much worse than the miscasting is the stereotypical misogyny. Women prepare for bake sales. Men take clients to strip clubs. Women worry about when their kids get to school. Men don’t notice when they’re out of toilet paper. Really? Sigh. What year is it? 1960? This would have looked outdated then. It’s just an awful, horrendous, laugh-free script. I don’t know why they made it.

I Don’t Know How She Does It
Photo credit: The Weinstein Company

Synopsis:
Trying to balance work and family is a non-stop juggling act for Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker). As a determined Boston-based finance executive, she devotes her day to her job and her night to her adoring husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) and their two young children. In between conference calls, meetings, deadlines, and her daughter’s school bake sale, Kate manages to survive on a daily basis. But when she gets handed a major new account that will require frequent trips to New York, and Richard also wins the new job he’s been hoping for, both will be spreading themselves even thinner. Complicating matters is Kate’s charming new business associate Jack Ablehammer (Pierce Brosnan), a handsome executive whose unexpected emotional support becomes a source of refuge.

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[17]	By BRIAN TALLERICO [18] Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com [17]