When their best friends die in a car accident, two godparents who can't stand each other are left to raise their friends' baby.
I'm not going to deny that I can be rather picky when it comes to "date movies", but pickings have been pretty slim in the latter half of 2010. So it was with reserve that I went to Life As We Know It, and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie starts rather slowly, taking its time to build up to the premise. But hang in there, because what is really happening is that you are being introduced to Messer (Josh Duhamel) and Holly (Katherine Heigl) and learning what makes them tick. We then get pivotal event #1: the married couple dies. Given the fact that this film is not meant to be a depressing film, the way this was handled was startlingly well done. Things progress quickly from there in a fairly genre-typical fashion.
Life As We Know It fires on all cylinders and does exactly what it is meant to do. We get the small laughs throughout the film, interspersed with just the right amount of emotional touches. What was particularly interesting, and well-done by both the writers and our lead actor and actress, are the various scenes where Messer and Holly are coping with the loss of their best friends. Two strong, independent people coping and looking for emotional release in ways that won't make them look vulnerable. Very good stuff.
Really, the only thing going against the film is the predictability, and I'm certainly not going to hold that against one of the few really good date movies to come out recently that is quite good. So grab that special someone (or that person you would like to become that special someone!) and go see it!
Trailer