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Movie Review - Little Black Book (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Nick Hurran |
| Starring: |
Brittany Murphy, Ron Livingston, Holly Hunter, and Kathy Bates |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sexual content/humor and language) |
| Length: |
107 minutes |
| Genre: |
Romantic Comedy |
| Tagline: |
Have you ever been tempted to look inside his... |
| Studio: |
Sony Pictures |
| Website: |
Little Black Book |
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PLOT
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Stacy Holt (Murphy) is a newly-hired associate producer for a Jerry Springer-esque daytime talk show with the
most annoying name ever - Kippie Kann Do. One day, Stacy finds out her boyfriend Derek (Livingston) used to
date a very hot model. His desire to avoid talking about his past relationships starts to bother Stacy. Her
co-worker, Barb (Hunter), convinces her to look at his Palm Pilot to try to figure out what the mystery is.
Stacy's curiosity gets the better of her, and she starts to contact Derek's exes under the pretense she wants
to interview them for potential Kippie Kann Do episodes.
Will she discover the answers she's looking for? Or will she discover more than she bargained for? Brittany
Murphy's adorability and the opening of a big can of worms ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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*pulls out wallet, takes out Man Card, flicks it at the computer screen*
There. You happy now? Keep the stupid thing. I'm tired of feeling guilty for seeing one romantic comedy
after another and enjoying most of them. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!?!?! I'm a sucker for cute gals, I suppose.
Kate Hudson. Brittany Murphy. Sandra Bullock. Jennifer Garner. Mandy Moore. They all have a knack for
making movies I should proudly blast, all while thumping my muscular pecs. But nooooooo, they all have to
go and be cute and make me enjoy the movies more than I should admit. Don't get me wrong, these romantic comedies
aren't masterpieces, and I'm not preordering the DVDs, but doggone it, I WANT TO MAKE FUN OF THEM! Instead,
the lead actresses charm me into enjoying them on some level.
Ah well, at least Julia Stiles still knows how to churn out crap
COUGHtheprinceandmeHACK. Back to the movie at hand ... Little Black Book.
Let me warn you, the movie starts out pretty slow, tossing one hackneyed joke after another at the audience.
I was ducking in my seat to avoid being hit by the huge amounts of cheese that were flying from the movie
screen. I was starting to get scared that the movie was going to be pretty bad, but thankfully, things start to
pick up once Murphy finds Livingston's Palm Pilot.
Oh, and Stephanie is forcing me to point out that while she enjoyed the movie, she didn't like it as much as I
did. In fact, I'll let our post-movie conversation flesh-out this review...
Steph: So what did you think?
Johnny: I thought it was pretty good.
Steph: How would you compare it to something like
13 Going on 30?
Johnny: Hmm, I think I may have enjoyed this a little more.
Steph: REALLY?!?!
Johnny: I guess. Why are you acting so surprised? Did you prefer
13 Going on 30?
Steph: Yeah.
Johnny: Why?
Steph: Well, this ended up being a little more predictable than I
hoped. I knew there was a twist coming, but I sort of figured it out.
Johnny: Whereas 13 Going on 30
was the second coming of Memento?
Steph: *sigh* Well, Mr. Smart Aleck, I wasn't expecting much from
13 Going on 30 and I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would.
But I thought I'd enjoy Little Black Book more than I did. I liked Jennifer Garner's relationship with
dude better than any of Brittany Murphy's relationships in this movie. Office Space dude didn't have as
big a part as I was hoping for.
Johnny: I like Brittany Murphy more than I like Jennifer Garner, so
I guess that influences my decision.
Steph: Really??
Johnny: Yeah, you thought I liked Jennifer Garner more?
Steph: I don't know. Murphy is too skinny, and I don't like her
mouth.
Johnny: What's wrong with her mouth? I think it's cute.
Steph: The corners do some weird little thing. What's up with
that?
Johnny: ROWR! Well, Jennifer Garner has a big forehead, so
there!
Steph: A big forehead?
Johnny: Yeah, just look at it. Anyway, Brittany does need to add
a few more pounds. She looked her best in Phoenix, but I still think she's cute and has great screen
presence. Can I ask you a question?
Steph: What?
Johnny: Why do you hate Brittany Murphy and Little Black
Book?
Steph: I don't! Quit being annoying.
There you have it. As Steph mentioned, there is a twist in the movie. No, it's not gonna send Christopher
Nolan or M. Night Shyamalan running for the hills screaming that their careers are over, but I wasn't really
anticipating it because I was too busy wistfully smiling at Murphy's cute antics rather than looking ahead.
Also, I have to begrudgingly admit that Holly Hunter does a good job with her role. I'm not her biggest fan
because I can't stand the way she says stuff like, "We're all shwimming in a shesh pool." Translation:
"We're all swimming in a cess pool." Hey Holly, you didn't always sound like that, SO TAKE THE MARBLES OUT
OF YOUR MOUTH AND KNOCK IT OFF! Oh well, at least she did her job here.
To be perfectly honest, this movie wouldn't have worked as well without Murphy as the lead. I stayed
focused on her and enjoyed watching the way she handled everything in her own little style. If you don't
like her (and I know people who don't), then the movie isn't going to work for you.
Like I said, not all of the jokes work, but I gotta give the movie credit for what is an untraditional ending
in regard to the romantic comedy genre. Finally, somebody takes a route that's slightly unexpected! I
wouldn't shell out big bucks to see this, but it kept a smile on my face consistently. Sometimes that's
really all I need, especially since I was mainly in the mood to watch Murphy be charming for a couple of
hours and wasn't really expecting much else.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Rashida Jones (Dr. Rachel Keyes) played Karen Scarfoli on an episode of the unfairly cancelled
Freaks and Geeks.
- Holly Hunter's incredibly fake-sounding accent extremely annoys Johnny Betts.
- Ron Livingston played Peter Gibbons in the 1999 cult classic, true-to-life Office Space.
- Johnny Betts thinks Carly Simon looks like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
- Since I love copying Ms. Cali, here we go... Livingston was in Office Space with Jennifer Aniston
who was in The Good Girl with John C. Reilly who was in Nightwatch with Josh Brolin who was in
The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Profanity is light. I can only recall a couple of "s" words and not much else. There are some sexual jokes,
and a shot of Murphy in her panties but nothing too racy. However, there is a scene at a gynecologist's
office that could make a few people uncomfortable. I wouldn't recommend it to pre-teens.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer is a pretty good gauge of what to expect. I doubt too many guys will see the trailer and
immediately jump in the ticket line, but if they like Murphy then being dragged along by the girlfriend
won't be too painful.
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THE GIST
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Little Black Book is the kind of movie that teenage girls, guys who adore Brittany Murphy, Carly
Simon fans, and fans of cutesy, fluffy romantic comedies will enjoy. Keep in mind that this is somewhat
light on the romance though. Make it a matinee, and if you're on the fence then it can wait for a
rental.
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