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He Said, She Said
Paramount // PG-13 // October 23, 2001
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Some movies, while flawed, have sufficient character that they're worth watching (if not rewatching) despite their weaknesses. Other movies are easily recognizable as I-can't-believe-I'm-watching-this-garbage material. In between the two extremes are movies that, while not horrible, also don't have any points of interest. In a nutshell, they just fall flat. He Said, She Said is one of these movies. While it isn't exactly terrible, the movie simply never gets off the ground.
As a premise, the idea behind He Said, She Said isn't bad. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins play competing journalists who end up as professional partners when their sparring becomes a selling point; their subsequent romance ends up being equally rocky. When their personal and professional antagonism comes to a head one day at the studio, we discover that what "he says" their relationship is about may be radically different from what "she says" it is... and the film promises to deliver a view from each side. But a premise is only that: a premise. It's the execution of the idea that matters in the end. And while He Said, She Said tries hard to be When Harry Met Sally with a new twist, it just doesn't work.
It's easy to pin down one major problem with He Said, She Said: the characters. For a romantic comedy to work, the viewer has to want the main characters to overcome whatever hurdles are in the way to true love. In this movie, I couldn't have cared less whether the two of them stayed together or broke up. Elizabeth Perkins alternates between looking irritated and looking lost; Kevin Bacon smiles a lot and exudes brashness; neither of them manages to bring any spark of life or the least vestige of charm to their characters. Without that spark, the antagonism that the script gives them just results in making them unlikeable.
But wait, you may say: often a character is intended to start out "unlikeable" and develop over the course of the movie into a charmer. I'm afraid that the script and acting of He Said, She Said puts this out of the question. I do think that we're intended to see some change or development in the characters between the "flashback" moments and the "present time" of the film and its conclusion... but it doesn't come across. The actors say their lines and go through the scenes, but they don't bring their characters to life as real people.
All right, so the characters don't work and the actors don't seem right for their roles. The movie might still be fun to watch if it had a decent story. Unfortunately, He Said, She Said falls flat in that category as well. The situation that leads up to the central conflict isn't particularly interesting or engaging, and the conflict itself is poorly motivated.
Last, but not least, the film's structure and pacing are very badly handled. More than half the movie is devoted to the "he said" part of the story, moving between flashbacks and the "present time" story, both of which were draggy and uninvolving. Finally, we switch to the "she said" part, and we're taken back over already well-trodden ground, story-wise, with nothing of any substance contributed. Everything about the structure is awkward, from the choice of flashback scenes to the pacing of the "he said" section to the rather contrived and hurried switch to the "she said" section.
Because the structure is so badly handled, the "he said, she said" idea becomes no more than a gimmick, and one that is not exploited particularly well. There is really only one (yes, just one) scene in the film that actually does something interesting with the concept that he and she might have different perspectives on the same events. The rest of the time, the idea of "he said" and "she said" is handled clumsily, resulting in scenes that left me wondering what, exactly, the directors were trying to accomplish.
Did I ever laugh during this movie? Admittedly, it did provoke a laugh during a few of the scenes. But these humorous moments were few and far between. One swallow doesn't make a summer, and one or two funny lines don't make up for the leaden quality of the rest of the film.
Video
Paramount's edition of He Said, She Said looks good on first glance, but on closer inspection, ends up rating just a tad above average. The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is of reasonably good quality, with no edge enhancement. What's missing is a certain clarity or crispness; the images are a bit soft. There's also some graininess that shows up in several scenes, though not throughout the entire movie.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack doesn't sound much different from a Dolby 2.0 track, with the front channels dominating and no appreciable use of surround sound. The overall audio quality is adequate for a dialogue-based movie, but the sound did have a mildly fuzzy quality instead of being completely clean.
Extras
He Said, She Said is a step above a bare-bones disc, with a commentary track as well as a trailer included. The audio commentary features the directors Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver, writer Brian Hohfeld, and cinematographer Stephen H. Burum. The menus are straightforward and easy to navigate.
Final thoughts
He Said, She Said is a movie that, in different hands, with different actors and a revision of script and structure, could have been both clever and funny. Of course, that's essentially saying that He Said, She Said would have to be a completely different movie in order to be any good, and that's basically right. As it is, He Said, She Said is, in a nutshell, lifeless. I'd rather have a film with more life, and maybe more problems, than a movie that never gets off the ground. It's possible that serious Kevin Bacon fans might get a kick out of seeing this film as a rental, though it's certainly not one of his better performances. As a general suggestion, I'd have to suggest skipping this one.
As a premise, the idea behind He Said, She Said isn't bad. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins play competing journalists who end up as professional partners when their sparring becomes a selling point; their subsequent romance ends up being equally rocky. When their personal and professional antagonism comes to a head one day at the studio, we discover that what "he says" their relationship is about may be radically different from what "she says" it is... and the film promises to deliver a view from each side. But a premise is only that: a premise. It's the execution of the idea that matters in the end. And while He Said, She Said tries hard to be When Harry Met Sally with a new twist, it just doesn't work.
It's easy to pin down one major problem with He Said, She Said: the characters. For a romantic comedy to work, the viewer has to want the main characters to overcome whatever hurdles are in the way to true love. In this movie, I couldn't have cared less whether the two of them stayed together or broke up. Elizabeth Perkins alternates between looking irritated and looking lost; Kevin Bacon smiles a lot and exudes brashness; neither of them manages to bring any spark of life or the least vestige of charm to their characters. Without that spark, the antagonism that the script gives them just results in making them unlikeable.
But wait, you may say: often a character is intended to start out "unlikeable" and develop over the course of the movie into a charmer. I'm afraid that the script and acting of He Said, She Said puts this out of the question. I do think that we're intended to see some change or development in the characters between the "flashback" moments and the "present time" of the film and its conclusion... but it doesn't come across. The actors say their lines and go through the scenes, but they don't bring their characters to life as real people.
All right, so the characters don't work and the actors don't seem right for their roles. The movie might still be fun to watch if it had a decent story. Unfortunately, He Said, She Said falls flat in that category as well. The situation that leads up to the central conflict isn't particularly interesting or engaging, and the conflict itself is poorly motivated.
Last, but not least, the film's structure and pacing are very badly handled. More than half the movie is devoted to the "he said" part of the story, moving between flashbacks and the "present time" story, both of which were draggy and uninvolving. Finally, we switch to the "she said" part, and we're taken back over already well-trodden ground, story-wise, with nothing of any substance contributed. Everything about the structure is awkward, from the choice of flashback scenes to the pacing of the "he said" section to the rather contrived and hurried switch to the "she said" section.
Because the structure is so badly handled, the "he said, she said" idea becomes no more than a gimmick, and one that is not exploited particularly well. There is really only one (yes, just one) scene in the film that actually does something interesting with the concept that he and she might have different perspectives on the same events. The rest of the time, the idea of "he said" and "she said" is handled clumsily, resulting in scenes that left me wondering what, exactly, the directors were trying to accomplish.
Did I ever laugh during this movie? Admittedly, it did provoke a laugh during a few of the scenes. But these humorous moments were few and far between. One swallow doesn't make a summer, and one or two funny lines don't make up for the leaden quality of the rest of the film.
Video
Paramount's edition of He Said, She Said looks good on first glance, but on closer inspection, ends up rating just a tad above average. The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer is of reasonably good quality, with no edge enhancement. What's missing is a certain clarity or crispness; the images are a bit soft. There's also some graininess that shows up in several scenes, though not throughout the entire movie.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack doesn't sound much different from a Dolby 2.0 track, with the front channels dominating and no appreciable use of surround sound. The overall audio quality is adequate for a dialogue-based movie, but the sound did have a mildly fuzzy quality instead of being completely clean.
Extras
He Said, She Said is a step above a bare-bones disc, with a commentary track as well as a trailer included. The audio commentary features the directors Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver, writer Brian Hohfeld, and cinematographer Stephen H. Burum. The menus are straightforward and easy to navigate.
Final thoughts
He Said, She Said is a movie that, in different hands, with different actors and a revision of script and structure, could have been both clever and funny. Of course, that's essentially saying that He Said, She Said would have to be a completely different movie in order to be any good, and that's basically right. As it is, He Said, She Said is, in a nutshell, lifeless. I'd rather have a film with more life, and maybe more problems, than a movie that never gets off the ground. It's possible that serious Kevin Bacon fans might get a kick out of seeing this film as a rental, though it's certainly not one of his better performances. As a general suggestion, I'd have to suggest skipping this one.
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