I Don't Know How She Does It

Sassy and Silly

Director: Douglas McGrath
Writers: Aline Bropsh McKenna, Allison Pearson
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Kelsey Grammer, Chrstina Hendricks, Olivia Munn

SYNOPSIS: Kate Reddy is a busy and bustling business woman with a ambitious career and hectic home life. When both she and her husband get major projects at work, Kate is forced to make hard choices between work and family.

REVIEW: Douglas McGrath, writer and director of Infamous and Nicholas Nickleby, takes a script from 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna by the novel from Allison Pearson to bring us a funny and heartfelt look at the perils of working mothers.

Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a mother of two and a banking executive who juggles her work and home life so that neither side suffers - too much. Her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) supports her decision to continue her career as a financial executive while he struggles to get his own architectural firm new business and profitable. Enter Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan), a financial market powerhouse interested in both Kate's proposal and in Kate. Working long and late hours on numerous business trips out of town, the delicate juggling act that Kate has perfected to keep all of her projects suspended in the air starts to falter causing facets of her life to start dropping through the cracks, mostly notably her husband and children. Can Kate make the right choices to keep both work, family and friends fulfilled?

Sarah Jessica Parker, McGrath and McKenna break the fourth wall of the silver screen to allow Kate to speak to herself and to the audience directly throughout the film. From hand-written lists projected on Kate's bedroom walls at 3:30 in the morning, to Kate stopping the film to speak to the filmgoer directly, to having other characters talk to the camera in a documentary format, I Don't Know How She Does It is a funny, but real look at working mothers everywhere, two-income families, and the limits of what one person can achieve before spreading herself too thin to the detriment of those she cares about.

Sarah Jessica Parker exudes a more mature version of her Sex in the City counterpart, Kate being sassy, funny and compassionate. At her side at home is Greg Kinnear's Richard, at once supportive and obvious to all that his wife gets done in a mere 24 hours in a day. Adding to the cast are the always dapper Pierce Brosnan as the executive Jack Abelhammer that Kate starts working closely with, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks as Kate's best friend Allison Henderson, and Olivia Munn as Kate's hard-working, but stoic co-worker Momo Hahn. Lastly, you have Seth Meyers as opportunistic co-worker Chris Bunce and Busy Philipps as Wendy Best, head of the rich, stay-at-home Momsters who feign friendship while hating everything that a working mother stands for.

From a daughter disappointment in her mother's broken promises because of work, to the ultra-vigilance by Kate to keep her emails to her boss as professional as possible, I Don't Know How She Does It is sweet, funny and a real look at the trials and tribulations of women with careers and families. I know many women know how they personally juggle family and careers, and will appreciate what they see.

SPOILER NOTE: Two major distractions I had with the sneak peek of the film were the overly obvious sound stage car trip scene between Kate and Jack, and the snowflake bubbles used at the end of the film between Kate and Richard that clumped in Kate's hair during their reunion dialogue.

WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Green Zone

Search For The Truth[Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson]
This weekend, I dove right into the movies. There are a couple of flicks to see and I did not want to waste a moment.

SYNOPSIS: Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team are charged with finding weapons of mass destruction in and around 1993 Baghdad at the start of the Iraqi War. As his searches come up empty, he becomes fed up with faulty intelligence and becomes embroiled in uncovering the source of the bad intel. On the way, he uncovers much more.

Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon team up again to bring us the opening days of the Iraqi War, the search for WMDs and the division of government as to how to run an effective war. Based on the book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone", the film gives us the insider's view of the start of the war, without the glamour and spin of the press.

Although not Stallone or Willis, Damon has become the most reliable dramatic action star. Partnering with "Bourne" director Paul Greengrass on this project, Matt delivers another solid performance. He brings a naivety and power to the role that endears you to his character and the story. As Roy Miller, he conveys what the American public feels about the war. 

Paul Greengrass brings his kinetic camera work and style to the script and brings out all of the grainy and raw details. Ramping up what he did with "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum", Greengrass uses the same hand-held camera work and adds new elements strategically, low-light and night-vision. It gives even more authenticity to the film. 

Greg Kinnear comes out of his do-gooder roles and provides a perpetual scowl as the bureaucratic Clark Poundstone, trying to run both an effective war and an effective media campaign for the support by the American people. Of course, every bureaucrat needs another government foil to run interference. In this case it is Brendan Gleeson as CIA Middle East operative Martin Brown whose 30 years of experience in the region is ignored as irrelevant and dated. And as an added bonus, we get a chance to see Jason Isaacs of "Harry Potter" and "Black Hawk Down" fame with his impeccable American accent as Poundstone's go to Ranger hunting down Miller before he exposes the truths meant to be left buried.

The story is fast paced and enveloping, keeping you captivated as to how the lone Chief Roy Miller can unravel why there are no Weapons of Mass Destructions to be found, who the source Magellan is and why the information is faulty, and why all of the government agencies and the press are after Magellan, but for different reasons. If you are a fan of "The Kingdom" and "Black Hawk Down", this film is a nice addition to your list.

Worth: Matinee or DVD