Seen on: September 18, 2009

The players: Director: Brandon Camp, Writers: Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson, Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, John Carroll Lynch, Martin Sheen

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: A self-help author (Eckhart) who has troubles dealing with his own problems falls for a florist.

Our thoughts: Brandon Camp’s “Love Happens” is more of a tearjerker than a romance, and that’s certainly part of what’s wrong with the film. As awkward as it sounds, this movie would probably work a whole lot better without the love story, because at its core, it’s more about dealing with loss than falling in love.

Aaron Eckhart plays Burke Ryan, a self-help author who has come to Seattle to host one of his popular seminars. Out there on the stage, Burke puts on a big smile and helps people deal with their sadness, but as soon as the show is over, he quickly realizes he has a hard time dealing with his own problems.

Luckily for Burke, he accidentally bumps into Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), a local florist who doesn’t exactly have a perfect life either. Even though they both don’t really hit it off at first, they soon realize that spending time together may just help them deal with the dark sides of their lives.

Ladies and gentlemen, the title says it all: love happens indeed in this sappy flick, even though it takes our two protagonists a while to get there. I admit “Love Happens” isn’t as bad as I expected, but sadly, it still failed to offer me anything remotely refreshing. It’s just as standard and predictable as a film of this genre can get.

Also, as I mentioned before, the whole love story between Burke and Eloise is really not the focal point of the film, because the story deals mainly with loss and how people can learn to deal with it. If only screenwriters Camp and Mike Thompson left out the love part or spent much more time developing it properly, this film would’ve turned out a lot better.

So, please be advised: “Love Happens” is not a big, charming romance. Instead, it’s a really sad film about a sad guy who just doesn’t know how to handle his wife’s death and is now finally forced to confront his past and do exactly what he’s been teaching all his fans. It’s unfortunate that most of his advice is a tad too insipid for my taste.

The film certainly boasts some solid moments, but those rarely involve both Burke and Eloise. They just go on a couple of random dates, none of which are particularly compelling to watch. The rest of the movie is intended to get audiences to cry and feel for these characters, and while a few scenes evoke some emotions, most of them end up being a tad too saccharine.

Eckhart offers a decent performance as Burke, who hides a big secret and has some serious trouble working out some personal conflicts. He gets a bit soft in his scenes with Aniston, but that’s probably because they don’t really connect onscreen. Aniston herself looks great and all, but both her character and performance remain empty.

Freaky quote: "I'm okay, but how are you???" – Aaron Eckhart

The final word: I’m sure many cinemagoers will be touched by all the sad music and the misery Burke has to cope with, but as far as I’m concerned, “Love Happens” just didn’t have a major emotional impact on me. It certainly tried to manipulate me, but I just didn’t buy it. This is by no means a boring film, but it’s a tad too predictable and simplistic.

Article by Franck Tabouring