I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)

The first must-see film of the year.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Most of the reviews on this movie are not positive. I would advise skipping many of them because they are wrong. I stumbled upon this on my day off and laughed out loud, was charmed right from the beginning. It's original, smart, a bit sarcastic, breaks the 3rd wall speaking to the audience and has a wonderful cast. It's realistic if you are or have been a working Mom, The writing is on the mark. It's about relationships and living. Parker, Kennear and Brosnan have a subtle, stylish, lovely chemistry. It made my day because it's about the things which do matter. Sometimes those things take awhile to be recognized because standing on principal does matter.

I Don't Know How She Does It (2011): Dir: Douglas McGrath / Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Munn, Kelsey Grammar: Utterly boring and cheap romantic comedy that addresses the balancing of family and work. Sarah Jessica Parker plays a working mother who lands a big corporate deal that will have her away from home a lot. Greg Kinnear plays her equally successful husband who is supportive but understandably irritated when her cell phone becomes her life. Director Douglas McGrath makes a good attempt at presenting these themes but the screenplay works like a sleeping pill with its predictable drivel and dumb clichés. Parker holds her own as a cheerful woman wading through the stresses of work and dealing with a son who does not speak and a pouting daughter. The other characters hold very little weight next to Parker's charm. Kinnear is a fine actor but his frustrated husband role has been exhausted to death by many other actors and he can only go by the numbers. Pierce Brosnan as Parker's career contact whom she accompanies to land a deal, is the flat and obvious suitor whom Parker thankfully responds with correct payoff. Olivia Munn plays Parker's assistant who dislikes the idea of motherhood and prefers a relationship without the stress. So when she does get pregnant it is met with complete phony bullshit where we are suppose to sigh. Finally we have Kelsey Grammar in a role that will likely have him wishing for Fraser again. Despite its message regarding working mothers, the only sighing I did is when the concluding credits rolled. Score: 3 ½ / 10

Why would you take a book that is witty, smart, honest and funny and turn it into something so ridiculous? I spent most of the movie wondering what possessed the screenwriters to take an excellent book, throw everything out except names of characters, completely mis-cast most of the roles and produce this joke of a movie? If you enjoyed the book - the movie will completely disappoint; if you haven't read the book - there is nothing worth watching in the movie, since the way the story line and the characters have been re-written by the screenwriters make this an un-realistic, pointless, waste of time.And the acting - as much as I adore Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and The City - she just cannot pull of this role; a business woman in an all-men investment firm does not fix her tights in a video conference room, does not say thank you 10 times in a row, and is generally not a ditz. A working mother is not a walking joke which is what SJP makes this character look like

Having been there and done that, i cannot agree with the reviews panning this movie.....There is a lot of truth and déjà vu in this film for every mother that has ever tried to juggle two full time jobs (career and home) - even if not on Wall Street.Sarah Jessica Parker (and a truly wonderful supporting cast) warmed my heart with her tireless efforts to live up to the role of perfect mother while desperately clinging to the facade of cool professional who carries no "baggage" with her to work and is the equal, if not superior, to her male colleague lurking in the shadows waiting for the opportunity to pounce and reap the spoils at the first sign of a slip-up. This is the story of a strong woman who keeps her eye on the (both) prize(s)and does so with humor and panache - and I love her for it.I can foresee that her character will still be juggling those roles even when her kids are in their 30's and doing their own juggling acts. I know I am.