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I Don't Know How She Does It

movies|i%20don't%20know%20how%20she%20does%20it|2011-11-03

A comedy centered on the life of Kate Reddy, a finance executive who is the breadwinner for her husband and two kids.

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Editorial

Sarah Jessica Parker is Kate Reddy, a working mum with a loving husband, two occasionally loving kids and an unforgiving working schedule. In constant demand from every faction of her life she is the ultimate juggler. As everyone keeps announcing during the frequent conversations to camera, “I don’t know how she does it?”

The talking heads are the first of many easy comparisons to Parker’s most famous role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City. Kate could easily be Carrie later in life. Constantly trying to have it all, the Boston based whiz-bang financial analyst has to start making trips to NYC to nab a huge contract that could make her career. Snobby parents, bake sale envy, head lice, stained frocks and amorous Irish men all threaten to derail Kate’s well planned, listed-to-the-max life but hey, love wins out in the end. Gush.

The titters are splashed out in broad-strokes but no less engaging. SJP does her SJP shtick with aplomb. This cute comedy is light years from the dreadful Did You Hear About The Morgans and the not-so-hot second Sex And The City movie. Joined by a cast that includes Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Kelsey Grammer and Drive’s Christina Hendricks, that’s how it should be.

Yes, the filmmakers are going for a specific demographic here but I Don’t Know How She Does It manages to shine in the much maligned, over Heigl-ed rom-com market. Despite plot over-familiarity and a tendency to wallow in the sugary side of saccharine, the sparky performances and a heartfelt message win the day. In today’s society success isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Rory Meyer