IT HAD TO BE YOU

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sexual implications

Rated:

Just once I would like to find a romantic comedy where two people are thrown together and find love without already be "living" with someone else. Most movies where the hero and heroine meet and fall in love while engaged to other people promote our culture's obsession with attraction over love. It Had to Be You is a rare gem in the sense the couple do the right thing, but unfortunately it falls prey to the usual problems with the genre... immorality and sexual conversations. It's pretty cute overall but not something that should be on everyone's "must-see" list. Former NYC policeman and aspiring author Charlie Hudson (Michael Vartan) is about to marry the editor of a major publishing house. He's been with Clara for five years and it seems time to finally tie the knot. His former partner in the force, Henry (Michael Rispoli) a struggling alcoholic, hates the woman.

Called abroad to deal with clients, Clara gives Charlie a room at a hotel near Central Park and tells him to finalize the rest of their wedding plans. In the hotel elevator he meets bride-to-be Anna Penn (Natasha Henstridge), who is also forging the world of dress patterns, gift purchasing, and silverware choosing alone. The two meet up the following day at the bridal boutique and laughingly help one another choose wedding touches, eventually forming a friendship. Through a series of mini adventures, misunderstandings with the local clergy and bartenders, Anna and Charlie begin to individually question their impending marriages. Are they marrying the right person, or did "the one" just meet them in the bridal shop? Anna's fiancée is a cleaning-obsessed media magnet with no sense of humor, and Clara is unbearably predictable.

Charlie believes to let his true feelings be known at this point would be the move of a "heel," but if he doesn't share his heart now, he may lose out on true love forever. While being perky and cute, It Had to Be You also has a few memorable discussions on marriage. The comedy is built around the premise of how fickle people are in the modern age. When purchasing wedding gifts, Anna is asked if it's her first or second marriage. The woman at the boutique implies the first year of marriage is spent in bed, and the second year in divorce court. Most of the people involved in the bridal business are cynical toward the union God created to bring happiness to two committed people. Charlie is encouraged by a hotel repairman to take this chance, since even though the man loves his wife, he always wondered what might have happened if he'd married another woman instead. Basically what the film pushes is if you're not sure -- don't tie the knot. It's not worth the time, expense, and personal pain.

I appreciated that they didn't cheat on their perspective spouses but instead kept a distance between them, primarily at Anna's initiative. In the background of the story is the budding relationship with Henry and Anna's maid of honor. Henry starts out an alcoholic who mocks the institution and eventually becomes sober so he can be worthy of the woman he loves. When he intimates it might be nice to go home together, Tracy tells him the answer is no "because I'm a lady," but that he can walk her home. Nice touch! However, it's still implied Charlie and Clara live together. At one point she returns from London to his hotel room, takes off her clothes, and asks him to make love to her while straddling him on the bed. The scene was unnecessary and offensive. There's also an unfortunate amount of discussion about "making love" (as a few examples, Anna quips the cheesecake is better than sex, and Charlie responds that she's sleeping with the wrong person; offhanded references are made by the woman at the boutique, and pop up in "girl discussions"), and some blatant double innuendos.

After falling asleep in the tub and soaking the room below (which coincidentally belongs to Charlie), Anna apologizes the next day for getting his room wet. The woman listening in on their conversation obviously mistakes it for a sexual conversation. Women are seen changing clothes several times. There's some mild language but nothing I found overly offensive or memorable. It's too bad immorality had to intrude because some of the scenes are genuinely funny. The charisma between the leading roles is also very good and some twists are thought-provoking. There's also a side plot about how difficult it is to be a policeman in charge of suicide cases, and the emotional devastation it wreaks.