It's almost unfathomable that this movie stinks...but it does, sadly. Confused characters bumbling through scenes, awful development of backstory, no chemistry, hardly any laughs and just a mishmash of WTF-ery :(

"How Do You Know" is a very unromantic romance...and this is probably THE reason why it failed so miserably at the box office. While it may or may not have contributed, director James L. Brooks and Jack Nicholson simply stopped making films after this bomb. And, in terms of bombs...this was a big one...earning back about $48,000,000 with a budget of $120,000,000!

When the story begins, Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is on the US women's softball team, dating a pro baseball player (Owen Wilson), and living a good life. As for George (Paul Rudd), he is making a ton of money, has a pretty long-term girlfriend, and is working for his father (Jack Nicholson). However, over a very short time, Lisa loses her position on the team, George is under indictment by the government and has no idea why, and his 'loving girlfriend' leaves him and promises to return AFTER his problems have resolved themselves...in other words, she dumped him. Can these two hurt people, George and Lisa, find each other and make something out of it?

So why do I think the movie tanked? Well because although it was a romance, there was a lot of content which was about as romantic as a case of the clap! During most of the film, Lisa was living with and/or dating the ballplayer...a man simply incapable of loving anyone. He appeared to be a sex addict and talked about his many, many, many one-night stands. Then, inexplicably, he says he's interested in settling down with Lisa...and utters the most unromantic line I can recall...and it's in the summary above. Wow...it really makes you wonder about Hollywood and its views on fidelity and relationships...perhaps to these folks that IS being romantic. He just seemed like a pig and she seemed pathetic for staying with him.

Another problem with the film is that a ton of money was spent on the film...too much. Had it been a movie that was special effects intensive, like a Star Wars movie, you could say "well, I see why the movie cost so much to make"...but here you wonder HOW $120,000,000 was spent on the film and why it took five years to complete! I think this insane spending is evident in the script, as so many story elements seem ill-placed...such as the story about George's father (Jack Nicholson) and the ball playing boyfriend. Without this, just Rudd and Witherspoon forming a relationship, it would have worked...as BOTH were very likable and did great work here. But the irrelevant supporting stories often just got in the way. What also got in the way was the very explicit song that Rudd kept singing as well as it playing at the end...a song by Barry White that really ISN'T about romance at all...just screwing!

Overall, a film worth seeing but also a film with many flaws. Not a terrible film but with this cast and crew, it should have been so much better.