Movie Review:

Little Black Book

by Lynn B.

Do you enjoy talk shows where guests really go at it? This might be entertaining until you realize that people might actually be getting badly hurt. Some have been hurt to the point of committing suicide. Okay, Little Black Book, a new romantic comedy starring Brittany Murphy and Holly Hunter, isn’t really about talk show guests losing it but it is a fun yet thoughtful and real exploration of gals snooping into their boyfriend’s secrets and the chaos this might cause.

Stacy Holt (Brittany Murphy) has grown up idolizing newswoman Diane Sawyer, and singer Carly Simon. After paying some dues, she starts work as an associate producer for daytime talk show hostess Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates) who is at the bottom of the Jerry Springer-style talk host food chain. It’s the old humiliate the guest format and Stacy’s co-worker Barb (Holly Hunter) just seems to take it in stride, advising Stacy to do the same.

When Stacy's live-in boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston), an ice hockey scout, goes on the road, Barb urges Stacy to start investigating her guy’s past which Stacy complains he has hidden from her.

Derek’s left-behind Palm Pilot leads Stacy to discover three ex-girlfriends, all of whom she tells she is interviewing for possible show guest positions. There is hot supermodel Lulu Fritz (Josie Maran) and Dr. Rachel Keyes (Rashida Jones), a gynecologist/author who turns out to still share a relationship with Derek because of their "joint custody" of his dog. Stacy finds she could really be friends with Joyce (Julianne Nicholson), a sweet local chef who still has a thing for Derek and continues to talk to and see him on a “friendship” basis.

Will Stacy confront Derek? Will their relationship survive? Is Barb the friend she seems?

Little Black Book, like Mean Girls, isn’t the usual teen or young adult relationship comedy. Like “Girls”, the film has a little backbone and poses some tough questions about how we live our lives and conduct our relationships with others. Would you throw away a possibly good female friendship to get your man? Does lying or “omission” of facts help or hurt your new relationship? Both Brittany and Holly Hunter do fine work as a kinda clueless but honest heroine and a not-as-she-seems coworker.

The film also takes a hefty look at the mean-spirited, exploitive talk shows whose fodder is the often bizarre or shattered relationship. All the characters in the film are flawed and thus far more interesting than those in the average romantic comedy. One problem with the movie is that it is uneven. It tries to take on some serious issues but then mixes this sort of backbone with silly dog jokes. None-the-less, Little Black Book explores some issues that we all need to look at and does so with a creative edge that is lacking in a lot of summer faire out there. Worth checking out, especially if you are wondering about your significant other…

This movie is rated PG-13

Official Movie Website - http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/littleblackbook/