Something’s Gotta Give (2003)

Nancy Meyers – Writer, Director
Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson

Let’s all be honest with ourselves, there is something distinctly unsexy about a couple of old people getting in on. Yes, they can be cute when they hold hands. When they put their arms around each other at the movies. I’ll even go so far as to admit I’ve teared at a stolen kiss at a Golden Anniversary Party. But no one wants to see Nana mounting Grandpa in the heat of passion; I don’t care how cute they are. So it may be reasonable that one’s initial reaction to a romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson would be one of utter horror.               

The movie opens with Harry Sanborn (Nicholson) a playboy music exec , notorious for dating exclusively Pretty Young Things. On a weekend romp to the Hamptons (where else!) with one such young lady (Amanda Peet), he happens upon her mother, the divorced and somewhat bitter playwright Erica Barry (Keaton.) Despite an initial dislike, after Harry becomes stranded in Erica’s sprawling beach house the two come to a new understanding and respect for each other. Throw in a few hilarious wrenches attempting to pull these two budding lovebirds apart and an awkward naked encounter or two, and you are set for romance. As with all rom-coms, the plot might be a wee bit farfetched. But, after all, what is the genre without at least a modicum of cheese.

60+ set or not, this movie is adorable, romantic, hilarious and, yes, a little sexy.  In a bold break from your more mainstream romantic comedies, the ones packed shoulder to shoulder with sexy 20-somethings and where every day at the office requires a skin tight miniskirt and 4 inch heels, Ms. Meyers offers a refreshing alternative. Perhaps due to the lack of a scantily clad cast, she pumps up the comedy and gives the audience a more relatable romance. Whereas not all of us may have experienced that exquisitely timed run in at the coffee shop and the ensuing witty banter, everyone has had that awkward post coital tug of war, “is he going to sleep over? Should I ask him to? What should I say in the morning?” Like Harry and Erica vulnerably fumbling as they settle into their first sleepover, the audience harkens back to that moment of themselves somewhat self consciously sharing the night with a new bedfellow. It also helps that both actors are sublimely talented and funny (a concept lost on many of the genre.)

Now I might be alone on this, but I still think Jack Nicholson is sexy whether he’s in his 30’s in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest or 65, and Diane Keaton is frankly one of those rare breeds who seem to get even more beautiful with age. Though there is perhaps a scene that might make even the most hardened of us blush, Meyers keeps the audiences laughing and rooting for these two in this truly great movie only disguised as a cheesy chick flick.