Product Details

• Actors: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet
• Directors: Nancy Meyers
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 8, 2004
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (353 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001E7LQG
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,509 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As upscale sitcoms go, Something's Gotta Give has more to offer than most romantic comedies. Obviously working through some semi-autobiographical issues regarding "women of a certain age," writer-director Nancy Meyers brings adequate credibility and above-average intelligence to what is essentially (but not exclusively) a fantasy premise, in which an aging lothario who's always dated younger women (Jack Nicholson, more or less playing himself) falls for a successful middle-aged playwright (Diane Keaton) who's convinced she's past the age of romance, much less sexual re-awakening. As long as old pals Nicholson and Keaton are on screen discussing their dilemma or discovering their mutual desire, Something's Gotta Give is terrific, proving (in case anyone had forgotten) that Hollywood can and should aim for an older demographic. Myers falls short with the sitcom device of a younger lover (Keanu Reeves) who wants Keaton as much as Nicholson does; it's believable but shallow and too easily dismissed. Myers also skimps on supporting roles for Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, and Jon Favreau, but thankfully this is one romantic comedy that doesn't pander to youth. Mature viewers, rejoice! --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Erica (Diane Keaton), a successful New York playwright and a woman who has been around the block a few times, is walking naked to her bathroom when a ladies' man named Harry (Jack Nicholson), a guest in Erica's house, stumbles upon her. How do these two veterans react to this unfortunate moment? Erica whoops, shrieks, and tries desperately to cover herself, while Harry throws up his hands as if to avoid an anthrax attack, shouts, "No! No!," and hurls himself against the nearest wall. What is the point of this hysteria? The writer-director Nancy Meyers appears eager to propitiate what she takes to be the national habit of youth worship. Harry and Erica do eventually hook up, but, for about half the movie, Meyers's embarrassment over sex between two sixty-year-olds makes the affair horribly self-conscious and less romantic than lewd-an "American Pie" for grownups. The picture does settle down, but the damage is done. And, while the upscale consumerist atmosphere of the movie is very knowing, there's very little genuine wit. With Amanda Peet, as Harry's original date, and a puppyish, treacly Keanu Reeves, as a young doctor who falls for Erica. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 121 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keaton Shines in Great Comedy!, January 2, 2004

By	Alec Solomita (Lady Lake, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Something's Gotta Give is one of the year's best films and best comedies as it teams up Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, who seemed to love every minute they shared onscreen. Nicholson plays a man who only dates girls under 30 and is shocked to find he can fall in love with a woman his own age, played by Diane Keaton, who has never looked better. She gives her best performance since she won an Oscar for Annie Hall and should be on her way to another as a very career sucessful woman who has no confidence with men. It is great to see her reaction to both Nicholson's and Keanu Reeves' character. Nicholson and Keaton light up the screen with every scene they are in and Amanada Peet and Reeves do very well in their supporting role, as does the underused Frances McDormand as Keaton's sister. Nancy Meyers, who had a huge hit with What Women Want, does a much better job here and makes for a great adult romantic comedy featuring actors over 50. A great film that will be remembered.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for entertainment....., February 16, 2004

By	Jeffrey E Ellis (Naperville, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Something's Gotta Give (DVD)

I just can't remember laughing so much at a recent movie!

I was prepared for a slightly-deranged, lecherous, self-absorbed Jack Nicholson. I mean, what else is new?

I was prepared for a sweet, bright, pretty Diance Keaton. She's a sweetheart, right?

I wasn't prepared for the flat-out laugh-out-loud humor, irony, and wit of this charming comedy! Just so much fun...my wife and I were still chuckling as we walked out of the theater into the parking lot.

I suspect that all baby boomers will get a big kick out of seeing this film - at home or in the theater! A terrific entertainment value.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why this will be a classic...., May 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Something's Gotta Give (DVD)

For all the reviews citing cliches in this film, it was surprising to me that the majority failed to mention that the screenplay was extraordinary. There are a couple of twists in the traditional plot lines of your typical romantic comedy, but what I felt was so special about this one in particular was that it didn't insult my intelligence. I felt the relationships were believable - especially the December/May relationship relationship that unfolded between Reeves and Keaton. Is it that hard to believe? Older women marrying younger men is a growing trend and I applaud the script for taking that chance. I also liked that there wasn't two of the more common romantic comedy plot devices: 1) a misunderstanding ala "Three's Company" or the 2) soap opera style standoffs between love triangles. Not a single one in this movie and I thought that the script treated the characters with a level of maturity that was more in line with reality than Hollywood.
If you want to see Jack and Keanu fight at the end or Amanda Peet chew out her Mom (Keaton) - you won't get it. Go watch a Meg Ryan movie instead.
Other highlights from my perspective:
A clever incorporation of IM and the internet without it being the focal point of the movie.
Some wonderful beach scenes that will remain classic - 50 years from now they will be used for an Oscar night montage.
Character arcs - they may seem simplistic and perhaps packaged quickly (esp. with the Peet character), but all the characters develop.
The cerebral flavor of the movie in general. If the average moviegoer can't appreciate the importance of "eating pancakes" in a certain scene then perhaps I suggest they are missing the point of that scene.
I am a big Jack fan and you think he is playing himself, but until those credits are rolling at the end does he flash that trademark smile in the restaurant. Not only did that simple act get applause in the theater when I saw the movie, but symbolized that he is complete - being himself again despite severing his bachelor ways. That was a brilliant subtlety that personified the whole movie, in my opinion.