How Do You Know

A bit slow to get started, and it's nowhere near as funny as "The Hangover." But it'll make you smile.

The result is highly entertaining but hardly ranks with the director's best work; a dramatic subplot involving the money guy and his corrupt father (a disengaged Jack Nicholson) never gains traction.

The experiment in the new movie is this: What happens when his Type A's are forced out of their comfort zones? If only Brooks had managed to leave his. How Do You Know feels like a collection of scenarios he's done better.

How Do You Know must have started with a good idea that got lost in the translation from concept to screen.

With a self-plagiarizing premise, lifeless performances and a clunky-to-say-the-least screenplay, this star-studded flop is one of 2010's most egregious wastes of cinematic talent.

This rambling, overproduced, tone-deaf melange of romance, comedy and drama is only slightly more engaging than Brooks' other feature this century, the unfortunate Adam Sandler vehicle "Spanglish" (2004).

No need to belabor the awfulness of this film, a romantic comedy devoid of romance - instead of chemistry there's the flow of reverse magnetism - and lacking in comic timing, let alone comic content.

I found this movie enjoyable. while it had it's quirks and awkwardness I think this relates to trying to be original as a rom-com. This is not a great movie, but it is good, a step away from cliche and will be enjoyed by fans of romantic comedies or Reese Witherspoon.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

It's a very average romantic comedy. The acting was decent, the plot was predictable and cliché and the movie was mildly entertaining. If you are into romantic comedies, you'll probably enjoy this movie, if not, I'd recommend you watching something else.

"How Do You Know" is just plain terrible. Despite the decent performances the movie fails to derive from something new and (literally) eats up a big cake of cliches and rom-com formulas. Its a film you want to watch in an airplane while taking a nap. Trust me, you will sleep faster.

I gave this movie a three because it did have some moments. I thought Owen Wilson was pitch-perfect as the shallow but good-hearted pitcher, and Jack Nicholson was his usual charismatic self. But what really sunk this movie was the script. Brooks never seemed to care about the central plot, involving some kind of securities fraud that is never precisely spelled out, so the audience is completely lost as to what the central jeopardy is. Brooks makes the mistake of focusing entirely on the romantic subplots, so the film feels rudderless and empty. There were a few **** all in all I thought this was an extremely lazy effort from writer/director Brooks.