I thought it would be appropriate after getting married last weekend to watch a movie that makes me thankful to have found the right guy for me. He’s just not that into you seemed to fit the bill perfectly. This movie calls for a group of close friends and some white wine spritzers with a wonderful grilled fruit salad.
With BBQ season in full swing (yes we happened to get a new one as a wedding gift) all of the wonderful and exotic possibilities of grilling are coming to mind. You will need some skewers, if using wood please soak them in water for 30 minutes before using. Choose your favorite fruit, anything you like that is strong enough to hold onto a skewer (something like watermelon will be too soft) while being grilled. We happened upon a wonderful idea to grill pineapple, simply purchase the whole fruit and quarter it. Next remove the flesh from the skin but be tidy about this as the skin is going to be directly on the grill. Place the cubed pineapple back onto the skin and sprinkle with cinnamon. Yes cinnamon. After about 5-10 min depending on how warm you like it, you’re done! Finish it off with some pure maple syrup. While the pineapple is grilling away you need to get your fruit kebabs on the grill too. You could soak them in wine a bit before hand but just be conscious that it could cause some flare ups on your grill. Once finished serve with some chocolate dipping sauce or some whipping cream, whichever suits your fancy. Now the wine spritzer is easy, pick your favorite fruity white wine (like a Chardonnay Musque from Cave Springs, Niagara) mix in some club soda or ginger ale and your set.
Now the movie….. He’s just not that into you is an insightful movie that if you’re in the right time in your life will mean a great deal to you. If you’re in the wrong place in your life you might hate it and deem it ridiculous. I happened to love the movie and it made me reminisce about different times in my life, how great friends are exactly what you need but that sometimes you need the truth even more. We meet a number of people through the film, but my favorite is Gigi.
Gigi is that hopelessly romantic, someone is out there for me girl who tries to convince herself that every guy she meets is her special someone. After an unsuccessful stocking of Connor she meets Alex, a bartender friend of Connor’s. Alex gives Gigi some insight and becomes her rock for finding out if guys are truly into her or if they just aren’t into her but are trying to be nice. Alex convinces Gigi that the “signs” that all girls look for are a load of crap, that if guys are really interested they will make it happen and the girl shouldn’t have to worry, and that she is not the exception to the rule but rather she is the rule. Of course Gigi misinterprets some “signs” from Alex and believes that he is totally into her and when she puts the moves on him Alex is revolted. She didn’t learn anything from him and he’s angry at her for not paying attention. Gigi yells at Alex that she would rather be the awkward and silly person that gets hurt but still believes in Love than the cynical user that Alex is. After some thought and time Alex realizes that he missed all the “signs” and that Gigi is the exception to his rule.
We see Janine and her husband, though when we meet Ben he’s hitting on a younger woman (Anna). Janine and Gigi work in the same office and we see them giving each other typical female advice on all aspects of relationships, most of which advice makes the other feel better and righteous in that they are correct and things will be fine. Janine and Ben are in the middle of renovating their house and Ben tries to tell Janine that her suspicions of him smoking is just the renovations getting to her, of course we all know that he’s really having an affair with Anna. Luckily Janine snaps out of the I can’t be alone so I must stay with the scum bag programme and realizes that she deserves better.
Beth also works with Janine and Gigi though her relationship problems are different again. Beth and Neil have been together for 7 years and they seem totally happy and in love. The problem comes when Beth’s little sister gets engaged and Beth realizes that if Neil was going to marry her he would’ve done it by now. Beth falls into the trap that we all think is there, you either get married to the person you love or you find someone else who will marry you. Sadly Neil is totally in love with Beth and would do anything for her but he doesn’t believe in marriage. They break up before her sister’s marriage and through the actions of her sister’s husbands after her Dad suffers a heart attack Beth realizes that Neil is all she ever wanted or needed. Lucky for her that he changes his mind on the whole marriage idea and they make it work for them, because if she’s happy than he’s happy and that is all that truly matters.
Connor who went out with Gigi once and never called her again dates Anna(who broke up with Ben after he made her wait in the closet while he “chatted” with his wife) for a short while. Anna however realizes that she needs to be on her own for a while and work on herself before she cares about what a guy thinks of her.
Connor who feels saddened but not devastated when Anna breaks up with him finally meets his advertizing guru Mary. Now Mary has had her ups and downs with all the newfangled ways to meet people but just really wishes that she could just meet someone face to face. Luckily she’s able to meet Connor face to face and they hit it off, both very very happy that they met one another finally.
We see a lot of the things we are told growing up represented in this movie but the one common theme is that all of the “poor” advice we give one another is to try and help build confidence in yourself and that is so important. It’s not that we want to be disillusional about life but that we want to believe in good, that you will find what you are looking for and that you don’t have to be alone unless you want to be. I loved how the characters were all interconnected and that in the end they all find what they need, not necessarily what they are looking for but what they need to fulfill themselves. Overall I thought that the movie was well done, maybe a bit long but there are a lot of characters and loose ends to tie up. I like also that our childhood lessons are explained, disqualified and brought back to life. The movie is a tad serious with a lot of comedy and truly hits home. Enjoy the spritzer and the grilled fruit!
