How Do You Know is a 2010 rom-com about a woman who finds herself evaluating her life and in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy in crisis competes with her current, baseball-playing beau.
I’ll admit that I’m not entirely a fan of rom-coms, though can’t deny I’m sort of taken by the wonder they often aim to inspire. It’s easy to see the appeal of love gone right in these movies, the contrived conflicts and miscommunication all wrapped up in 90 minutes by some grand public display of affection that would seem logistically impossible in the real world. Seriously. How could some of these guys manage to do the things they do in such short notice?However, it really wasn’t the promise of happily ever after that drew me to James L. Brooks‘ somewhat disappointing How Do You Know. Instead, it was the names Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon. I mean, come on. Ant-Man! Rudd is the best. I’m sure you felt the same. Oh, wait. Have you ever even heard of this?
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Probably not. How Do You Know was a box office flop, panned by critics and generally ignored by theater-goers, not even making back half its enormous budget – I’m guessing most of which went to the star-powered cast. They include Rudd and Witherspoon of course, but also Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson, who is a Brooks’ favorite, having been in three other of his movies, winning an Academy Award for As Good As It Gets. And hey, Brooks himself has 3 statues, making him no slouch behind the camera. And yet …
There’s something flat about How Do You Know, Nicholson reduced to a silly subplot that has him acting like a cartoon and the rest of the movie nearly absent of any edge, chugging along on the most basic of motivations. It centers on a young woman named Lisa Jorgenson (Witherspoon), a star softball player who finds herself suddenly cut from the Team USA squad. It’s devastating, and in a tailspin, she meets and has a one-night stand with Matty Reynolds (Wilson), a wealthy pitcher for the Washington Nationals. He’s a bit of a ladies man (actually very open about it, keeping his immense walk-in closet stocked with pink sweat pants and shirts for girls looking to stay till the morning). This, for Lisa, is revolting, but somehow, she’s drawn to the carefree innocence and genuinely likeable guy. They decide to date.
Enter George Madison (Rudd). He’s also having a rough week. Under federal criminal investigation for wrongdoings with his job at his father’s (Nicholson) big money company, he’s fired by the board and abandoned by the legal team. I’ll save you the trouble and just say you won’t much care or even want to follow the details of this mess. Worse, his girlfriend dumps him but since she’s a blink or you’ll miss it character, this too won’t much matter to you. Either way, by circumstances that even the movie plays with loosely, George was supposed to go on a blind date with Lisa before she … wait. You know what? I’ll just skip all that. Basically, in a breath, George meets Lisa and because she’s full of spit and vinegar and, well … looks like Reese Witherspoon, falls in love, or at least obsessive maniacal, leaving her to decide which of these two men in her life, the playboy jock with a heart and millions of dollars or the soon-to-be-possibly-thrown-in-federal-prison-adorable loser, has it going on best though honestly, you wonder why she bothers with either since she’s the most stable of the bunch and even with her cut from the team, seems a pretty cool girl with a ton still to offer professionally and personally. Exhale.
So, with all that explained, let’s talk about Tony Shalhoub. He plays a psychiatrist and he’s in the movie less time than it will take you to read this article (on screen exactly two minutes and 5 seconds if you’re curious), in a scene that probably would have been cut by most directors. He has barely any lines and would seem to have no impact on the story, at least initially, forgotten by most watching the movie even a few moments after he’s gone. So what’s the deal?
Lisa, at this point in the story, has slept with and is considering a relationship with Matty and just had one awkward dinner date with George. She’s frustrated by the loss of her position on the team and is unsure over just about every next step in her life. With, as she makes clear, one month left on her health insurance and 6 free visits to a medical professional guaranteed by it, she decides to poke the brain of an expert. However, once she enters the office of said psychiatrist, she instantly reverses her decision and tells the confused doctor that it was a mistake coming here. He nods with understanding and willingly sees her to the door where she suddenly spins and asks a pointed question:
“I was wondering if there’s one general thing you’ve found over the years to be generally true in a general way that would help anyone … with any situation?”
Witherspoon delivers this little gem with just the right sense of self awareness about what she’s saying, and it’s setup like bowling pins ready for a strike to have the doctor mouth off some off the cuff remark about it being an age-old question and finding it within yourself and blah, blah, blah. But instead, the psychiatrist trips us up and simple tells her, “Yes,” which is already a reply that changes expectations, but then adds something that is, in all honesty, truly enlightening. With Shalhoub leaning on a desk and giving great weight to his words, he says: [bg_collapse view=”link-inline” color=”#c92a2a” icon=”eye” expand_text=”Show Spoiler” collapse_text=”Close” ]Figure out what you want and learn how to ask for it.[/bg_collapse]
Now, I won’t claim that this is some deeply moving, life-changing remark, but I will say for the type of film it is, it comes out of nowhere and feels like something that should be in a better movie. This is a light comedy with some weird drama, delivered by characters slightly over-emphasized, making this sudden, grounded moment a real twist. Going it further, Lisa then offers a counter to the doctor about his answer, and what he tells her is even more impressive (I won’t spoil the whole scene), and in some way, though not with the impact it could have, she takes his words to heart.
I love what Shalhoub does with this unnamed part, seemingly not told that he’s cast in a rom-com. Wearing a thin beard and looking every bit the psychiatrist, he grabs hold of his two minutes and plies every last drop of conviction out of it them, giving the moment terrific authenticity. I wish there were more of him, though in retrospect, I imagine Brooks knew what he was doing with just the simple insert. It’s a great character moment.