Humorous, contemplative, heart-felt, enjoyable, and tugs a little at your heart strings. These are the words I would use to describe Life As We Know It, a new romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. The story is about 2 friends of a married couple that inherit their baby girl when they die in a tragic car accident shortly after the baby's first birthday.
Although the movie storyline and ending are predictable, I felt myself getting caught up in the characters and story in spite of the predictability. I was thoroughly entertained during the movie, from the beginning set up of the main characters mutual disdain for each other through the end where we witness the completed circle of their roller coaster year at the little girl's second birthday.
Of course we have the typical very attractive lead characters, chef/cafe owner Holly Berenson (Heigl) and sports TV technician Eric Messer (Duhamel). They had great chemistry together, and were able to pull off their scenes well. Holly's love interest Dr. Sam (Josh Lucas) brings the typical complication to the romantic comedy genre, and of course the audience thinks he is a great guy, but we're always rooting for the unlikely outcome that perhaps doesn't have much basis in reality.
Minor characters of the nosy friendly neighbor, a gay couple raising a child, the Child Protective Services worker and a couple of others bring some fresh humor to the mix, keeping the lead characters, as well as the audience on their toes.
A truly memorable moment at this Tempe screening, was when I and the entire audience couldn't help but laugh when they put up a picture of Phoenix that was obviously a cut and paste job of several notable parts of the area, next to a sign saying "Phoenix, Downtown" just to make sure we knew where it was supposed to be! There are plenty of memorable moments including the new guardians trying to get the baby to eat the homemade organic food of the professional chef, the toddler's first steps, and the realistic arguments. And a couple great quotes like, "She's making the poop face", "Yes honey, I'm your mommy", and my personal favorite, "Having somebody help you doesn't mean you failed, it just means you're not in it alone." Movie was about 2 hours, which seemed a bit long for a comedy, but I was entertained enough to not notice the time.
I give it 7/10 stars
Although the movie storyline and ending are predictable, I felt myself getting caught up in the characters and story in spite of the predictability. I was thoroughly entertained during the movie, from the beginning set up of the main characters mutual disdain for each other through the end where we witness the completed circle of their roller coaster year at the little girl's second birthday.
Of course we have the typical very attractive lead characters, chef/cafe owner Holly Berenson (Heigl) and sports TV technician Eric Messer (Duhamel). They had great chemistry together, and were able to pull off their scenes well. Holly's love interest Dr. Sam (Josh Lucas) brings the typical complication to the romantic comedy genre, and of course the audience thinks he is a great guy, but we're always rooting for the unlikely outcome that perhaps doesn't have much basis in reality.
Minor characters of the nosy friendly neighbor, a gay couple raising a child, the Child Protective Services worker and a couple of others bring some fresh humor to the mix, keeping the lead characters, as well as the audience on their toes.
A truly memorable moment at this Tempe screening, was when I and the entire audience couldn't help but laugh when they put up a picture of Phoenix that was obviously a cut and paste job of several notable parts of the area, next to a sign saying "Phoenix, Downtown" just to make sure we knew where it was supposed to be! There are plenty of memorable moments including the new guardians trying to get the baby to eat the homemade organic food of the professional chef, the toddler's first steps, and the realistic arguments. And a couple great quotes like, "She's making the poop face", "Yes honey, I'm your mommy", and my personal favorite, "Having somebody help you doesn't mean you failed, it just means you're not in it alone." Movie was about 2 hours, which seemed a bit long for a comedy, but I was entertained enough to not notice the time.
I give it 7/10 stars