Love Happens: A deeper chick-flick
Posted by The Skyliner on November 4th, 2009Laurel Vaughn
Staff Writer
For most of you who write off chick-flicks you may look at the title of the movie Love Happens and automatically decide not to see it. I will admit, it is a bit of a chick-flick. However, this movie is about much more than just love and the sappy attainment of it. It is a movie that shapes you, changes you and stays with you.
Written by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson, this PG-13 drama/romance is about dealing with significant loss, breaking through and coping with intense grief, recognizing and dealing with guilt, healing from tragedies and most importantly, moving forward with life.
One of the main characters of this movie is a widowed doctor named Burke Ryan, played by Aaron Eckhart, who you might recognize as Harvey Dent/Two-Face from The Dark Knight. Burke tragically loses his wife in a terrible accident. He then goes on to write a book about how to cope and move forward with your life after the death of a loved one. Book sales take off and soon enough he becomes a motivational speaker/self-help guru at sold-out conventions and seminars.
Though Burke looks healed and strong on the outside, he has not truly dealt with the deep grief of his horrible loss in the way he is leading and helping others to do. In fact, he does almost everything he strongly advises others not to do. His own hypocritical nature and the draining duty to keep up his double-life in front of those he is teaching eats at him and further gapes the hole in his heart from the loss of his wife.
Eloise Chandler, played by Jennifer Aniston, is a strong and independent woman who has freshly sworn off men and is focused on her floral business. When Eloise and Burk meet, there is an automatic attraction. However, Eloise’s rude actions push the start of anything with Burke away.
Though Burke has not dated anyone for three years after the death of his wife, he cannot shake Eloise from his mind. But can two people who appear to be so right for each other make it work when they meet at entirely the wrong time and place? Will Burke be able to let in the one person that could actually help him for a change?
As each struggle with the hurts of love and loss, they both realize that for them to move forward, they must first let go of the past. If they can, they will find that sometimes, love happens when you least expect it.
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 8