Something's Gotta Give, Movie Review - Times Network Options

[Pradeep]

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton
Direction: Nancy Meyers

Age has nothing to do with it; so goes the premise of this rom-com that sparkles whenever its two seasoned lead players display their flair for the funny business on-screen.

In other words, Something's Gotta Give is a glossy showcase for Nicholson and Keaton, who come together once again after Reds (1981). And it's obvious that time hasn't diminished their charisma or sheer chutzpah in going at their parts with unbridled enthusiasm.

Nicholson, 66 in real life, takes on the role of a 63-year-old playboy into affairs with pretty young things, courtesy Viagra. He arrives at a beach house with his latest conquest (Amanda Peet). So far, so ordinary. The plot opts for the classic twist as the sexagenarian is attracted to the girl's mother (Keaton), an eminent playwright. The two bicker but land up between the bedsheets. Complicating the tangle, there's a young doctor (Keanu Reeves) who also flips for the fiftyish playwright.

The situational laugh-raiser has its quota of hilarious as well as embarrassing gags. Much in the vein of director Meyer's earlier chucklefest What Women Want. Surprisingly for a woman director, there's an element of male chauvinism, as the playboy is made out to be a sexual profligate who gets his cake and eats it too.

Mercifully, the movie doesn't aspire to be anything more than a fluffy, grina-minute entertainer. Nicholson and Keaton seem to be letting their hair down literally, even indulging in a flash or two of nudity.

Keaton, in particular, is in fantastic form, deservedly earning a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her mercurial performance. Nicholson plays himself, smiling saturninely and raising an arched eyebrow with practised ease the way he did in Terms of Endearment and As Good As It Gets. Frances McDormand is impressive as the playwright's commiserating sister. Reeves is as earnest as a boy scout, while Ms Peet, as the incredibly tolerant daughter, is serviceable.

Lensed by the ace cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, this slickly-packaged comedy is pretty good fun while it lasts.