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Love Happens Our rating: Your rating:   MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some language including sexual references) Genre: Romantic Comedy Theater release: September 18, 2009 by Universal Pictures Directed by: Brandon Camp Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes Cast: Aaron Eckhart (Burke Ryan), Jennifer Aniston (Eloise Chandler), Dan Fogler (Lane), Judy Greer (Marty), John Carroll Lynch (Walter), Martin Sheen (Silver) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Dr. Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart) is a self-help guru. His best-selling book, A-Okay, about grieving the loss of a loved one, has birthed seminars across the country. And thanks to his wheeler-dealer manager Lane (Dan Fogler), he's on the cusp of signing a deal for a book series, a syndicated TV show, and a line of merchandise that includes exercise equipment and weight-loss supplements ("making loss a good thing").

Too bad Burke is so emotionally shut down he can't enjoy any of his success.

His life is a series of well-ordered routines, neutral hotel rooms, and surprising contradictions. His book warns against the crutch of alcohol and encourages practicing happiness with five minutes of daily smiling. Yet we see the good doctor hitting the mini-bar and sitting in a stone-faced stupor in his lonely hotel room.

Aaron Eckhart as Burke Ryan

Likewise, there's a staggering disparity between the forlorn look on his face in the hallway just moments before his opening talk at the A-Okay Seattle seminar and the brilliant smile he flashes to this roomful of grieving groupies. It's not that Burke is insincere; he truly wants to help these people. It's just that it's easier to help them deal with their grief than to dig deep and finally confront his own unresolved pain over his wife's sudden death in a car accident three years prior.

But a few encounters at this Seattle seminar start to shake things up.

Burke is moved by one of the conference attendees, Walter (John Carroll Lynch), a burly contractor who's just lost his 12-year-old son. Walter has a finely tuned crap-ometer, and doesn't buy all of Burke's fortune-cookie wisdom. Their conversations force both men to dig deeper into their own personal hurt.

After a session one day, Burke's estranged father-in-law (who lives in Seattle) shows up and reads him the riot act for turning his daughter's death into a series of silly quips and personal financial gain. He (Martin Sheen) calls Burke a hypocrite and hints that there are other aspects of Burke's wife's death we don't yet know.

Jennifer Aniston as Eloise

But, of course, the most impactful encounter at the conference is with Eloise (Jennifer Aniston), the beautiful florist Burke spies arranging bouquets in the hotel lobby. With some nudging from Lane and a big gulp of bourbon, Burke musters the courage to ask her out. While the invite doesn't go quite as hoped, the two do eventually wind up on a date together. While that doesn't go so great either, thankfully this is the movies, where the forgiveness and second-chance factor are pretty high.

We know from their first yelling match that these two are a good fit. They're both messed up and jaded. Eloise is a free spirit; Burke isn't enjoying his life. Eloise keeps trying to fix her succession of ill-chosen bad-boy boyfriends; Burke needs to be fixed himself. Eloise inexplicably scribbles obscure words on hotel walls; Burke has an inexplicable aversion to elevators. Eloise has amazing hair; Burke has great teeth.

Okay, so yes, this is a pretty by-the-numbers Hollywood romance. There's the meet cute. The requisite hurdles for the relationship. The personality quirks that are somehow cute and endearing instead of ugly and unhealthy. The edgy but good-hearted friends. The cool city they all traipse around in like characters in a vodka commercial or cologne ad.

Their first date doesn't end all that well

Thankfully, Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston both bring oodles of charm to Burke and Eloise. They create likable characters. And they're just so dang attractive to watch. In fact, the whole movie is well and impressively cast. Even the city of Seattle, with its quirky yet accessible vibe and occasional downpours, is well chosen for this movie about love and loss.

It's this latter theme that's surprising in this romantic comedy. At times it brings needed gravitas, offering poignant moments that buy some grace for the predictable ones. At other times it's just a downer, or is so grief-lite it's almost funny.

But then, the whole movie is much better if you can turn off your reality-meter. Because I don't buy that this guy who hasn't truly grieved wrote this book, especially not thinking no one else would read it. And I don't buy that this book full of "happiness is a state of mind" truisms would be a national bestseller. And I don't believe that people would come to a week-long seminar on grief. And that covers just the first ten minutes of the film.

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