"Love Happens" when you least expect it... though now it's becoming predictable

In the film Love Happens, Burke Ryan, Ph. D. (Aaron Eckhart) is a self-help therapist and author of a book and leader of a seminar, "A-Okay!", which is dedicated to getting over grief. He himself has to get over a similar grief of his own - three years ago, his wife died in a car accident. On a business trip to Seattle, he runs into the local flower girl at a hotel, Eloise Chandler (Jennifer Aniston). They instantly start to fall for each other, but she refuses to admit it, and it starts to seem like he is trying to get her to buy his book. However, she does hint at it by leaving dictionary definitions for him to look up. In two subplots, two of the attendees of his seminar, Walter (John Carroll Lynch) refuses to get over his son's suicidal death and Burke's father-in-law (Martin Sheen, I think) wants to release his parrot into the wild, but can't bring himself to.

Let's face it - this film doesn't break much ground. If you've seen any romantic comedy or drama, you already know much of how this film will end. There are a few unpredictable points I won't spoil, but other than that it's more or less the same. I'm not saying I didn't like it, but there's nothing really new in it. I'll say it's more worth your time than The Ugly Truth or My Life in Ruins, but that's not saying much. I'll give it this, though - the message of grief relief may be enticing to moviegoers, and the subplots give the film some extra charm.

The film recieved a PG-13 rating, mostly due to violence. Burke has flashbacks of his wife's car accident (we see her driving in the rain and swerving to avoid a dog - we hear a crash, but we don't see the impact) and in an attempt to invoke "bravery", he asks his attendees to walk across a hot coal bed - a man and a woman do, but Walter refuses while Burke stands there - he calls out to Walter to join him, and he attempts to hide his wincing (it's apparent that he is, though), and we later see his feet are scarred. There are a few sexual references, but it's just dialouge played for laughs. There is little if any profanity (no strong words), and Burke uses drinking to cope with his grief. There is one more instance of violence, but it spoils one of the subplots - contact me privately and I'll tell you.

The verdict? Just make it a DVD rental unless you think you can relate to the theme of getting over a past grief or you have an undying devotion to Jennifer Aniston or Aaron Eckhart.

Coming soon:
Jennifer's Body review
Box office update: Weekend of September 18
The Informant! review (when I see it)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs review (when I see it)