Love Happens
User Score
5.5 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 22
  3. Negative: 7 out of 22

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  1. AngelicaC
    Sep 21, 2009
    8
    I thought this was a wonderfully insightful movie. It's not the typical romantic movie that it portrays itself to be; so, in that sense, I can understand some people's disappointment. In a very unexpected way, it's a very deep look at a man's struggle with his wife's death and the journey he takes to face the truth. If you're sensitive like myself, you'll enjoy this movie and maybe come out learning a little about yourself.… Expand
  2. JessE
    Oct 14, 2009
    8
    I liked the movie. I don't know what everyone else is butt hurt and complaining about.
  3. ChadS.
    Sep 20, 2009
    7
    No single character made me laugh more than the irrepressible Angie Tempura, the "Bitch, pleeeze" blogger(played by the recently fired Michaela Watkins), who relished the pan like a retarded Michiko Kakutani(the senior book critic for the New York Times), on NBC's "Saturday Night Live". What would Tempura say about "Love Happens"? For certainly there are many "bitch, pleeeze" moments that would drive any jaded filmgoer to churlish sarcasm. Burke Ryan(Aaron Eckhart), a best-selling self-help writer, is suffering in Seattle, the same city where he lost his wife in a car accident. At his seminar, the grief guru pays special attention to Walter(John Carroll Lynch), a guilt-ridden father, who sounds like he could have written "Tears in Heaven" had Eric Clapton not beaten him to it. Burke tells Walter that he's "stuck", an assessment which the likeminded author makes soon after his visit to the Space Needle. Oh, a metaphor. The Space Needle was a metaphor that links both men; they both have stuck needles and sound like broken records. Bitch, pleeeze. To help Walter escape from his bum groove, Burke, along with his seminar students, accompanies this former contractor to Home Depot. Bitch pleeeze. They help Walter become whole again by helping him fill out his tool belt. Bitch...it works; sometimes emotional hogwash and box jellyfish in a bathtub-like manipulation works, against your better judgement, against your will. Sometimes you have to turn off your inner Tempura and not be so jaded all the time.… Collapse
  4. SethB.
    Sep 20, 2009
    1
    Syrupy and stupid and boring. Not the actors fault either. At the end of the movie when one character starts that slow clap and others join in right at the climax of the movie I just wanted to kill the producer. Such recycled garbage.
  5. AdaM
    Oct 17, 2009
    4
    Walter is perhaps the only good thing in the movie. He does a great job - perhaps he's got the best written character amongst the lot. The movie could have been better edited to make the audience have more sympathy with Eckhart - they did nothing to show that he's still missing his dead wife until 3/4 of the movie has already passed. I don't know whether or not Eckhart should be blamed, as his "I sympathise" look just don't look v sympathetic.… Expand
  6. aprilh
    Oct 6, 2009
    10
    Sorry folks.. But I about 30 other people in the showing all Loved the movie.. which included about 10 men. Everyone of us walked out saying we loved the movie.. Lucky I don't think much of 'Critics' reviews.. If I did, I wouldn't see 3/4 of the movies I do go watch..
  7. KevinS
    Sep 18, 2009
    0
    Movie should be renamed to "Nothing Happens". What a bore!
  8. CarolynL.
    Sep 18, 2009
    1
    the whole self-help guru thing is not even believable . The movie is dumb and the actors are less than good or engaging . Eckart does the same thing as he did in Thanks For Not Smoking and Aniston does the same mannerisms in every movie .
  9. ElaineC
    Sep 19, 2009
    8
    Definitely the ubiquitous "chick flick," it's still very enjoyable if the viewer sees it with absolutely no expectations of pathos and drama. It lives up to its promise--the co-stars are very easy on the eyes and deliver a sweet little love story.
  10. Denise
    Apr 17, 2011
    3
    A tropical bird released into the Pacific Northwest would end up just as dead as this turkey. It started off looking like a thought-provoking and promising film. Then the writer either got bored or lazy or both, and it all turned to slapstick and kitsch.
  11. fijiislander
    Feb 17, 2011
    3
    My mate and i gave up half way, the lead actor wasn't meant for the role and he didn't seem to have any form of chemistry with jennifer anniston.Anyways, i wasted 20 minutes watching the movie and wouldnt want to waste anymore minutes writing anymore word in my review.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
33 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 26 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 26
  3. Negative: 10 out of 26
  1. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Calvin Wilson
    63
    Although the film begins promisingly, it proves to be little more than a soap opera.
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  2. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Anderson
    50
    Eckhart has even less chemistry with Aniston than he did with fellow narcissist Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2007’s "No Reservations," going soft and gooey only when he and Martin Sheen, as Burke’s father-in-law, share a big cry.
    Read full review
  3. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    50
    An incredibly lazy movie -- but not an unbearable one, thanks to Aaron Eckhart's charm.
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