I Don’t Know How She Does It

Based on the book by Allison Pearson, I Don’t Know How She Does It follows working mother Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker) as she attempts to balance her hectic home life with the increasing demands of her high-powered job. Filmmaker Douglas McGrath has infused I Don’t Know How She Does It with an almost egregiously slick sensibility that immediately proves problematic, as the movie subsequently suffers from a lack of authenticity that prevents the viewer from working up any real interest in the central character’s ongoing exploits (ie Kate just doesn’t feel like a real person). The sitcom-like atmosphere, which is most keenly felt in the emphasis on broadly-conceived jokes and gags (eg Kate must contend with a lice infestation during a pivotal meeting), inevitably dulls the impact of the film’s admittedly charismatic performances, which is certainly no small feat given the presence of such notoriously compelling actors as Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, and Kelsey Grammer within the supporting cast. (Parker’s relentlessly frenetic turn as the protagonist grows more and more grating as time progresses, however.) There is, as a result, little doubt that the more sentimental elements within Aline Brosh McKenna’s screenplay fall hopelessly flat, which inevitably confirms I Don’t Know How She Does It‘s place as a pandering and thoroughly irrelevant bit of chick-flick filmmaking.

*1/2 out of ****