Knox D Alford III (knoxiii) There is no accounting for taste, and talent requires the right forum to shine. I felt like the script was earplugs, I was made to wear at the original Woodstock if they bolstered the lineup w/ the Beatles/Rolling Stones/Sinatra/Elvis/Johnny Cash. It reminds that a thoroughly all-star cast is no guarantee for a rising tide to lift all scripts. I was shocked that the script/story/movie was this bad. With the exception of SJP, many of my favorite & extremely talented actors comprised the cast. SJP led the script towards it's worst possible adaptation w/ poor acting in portraying the word "harried". Conversely, Olivia Munn was the most amazing Sunshine on the most overcast day of my year, finding a way to break through the clouds like a miracle from a Saint multiple times. To imprison or hold back, her dramatic & comedic prowess requires the same power of witchcraft requisite to keep Robin Williams unfunny every minute for 72 hours. Good luck. Reading the impressive list of names & talent of the cast, it would take a very weak script & leading actress to render the resulting movie such a surprising failure. As a favor to the actors & yourself, watch any other movie they are in & stay far away from this one. My claims deserve succinct justification but not a full autopsy. My life has already been shortened. The movie had one premise & a no-brainer at that. Family trumps work. Thanks for the attempt to affirm a concept almost everyone is already sold on. It is difficult to live up to, but so is complete honesty. We fail most days buy all generally agree it's worth striving for. That was the failure. SJP failed to sell me on the difficulty by not being able to convey passion. Every other actor did fine with their roles but they can't write their own scripts. Morgan Freeman can read a corporate quarterly financial report with a master's flair, but he can't make it interesting. The script was like a politician promoting patriotism after 9/11 or a grand dragon convincing the Mississippi chapter of the KKK to get out the vote against President Obama. There is no issue, no dissent, no argument on the other side & you are acting like one exists & want approval & credit for "fighting" the good fight. Well, you're a little late. I was impressed by the best supporting actress in the movie, Olivia Munn, as much as when she first commandeered my attention as an intrepid correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart with her realness, sarcasm, deadpan looks, seriousness, comedy, astoundingly quick, smart, & funny wit, with the outward beauty of Helen of Troy. Her facial expressions & overall acting was like a lone but plush rescue yacht on the Titanic. This is the only reason for adding a very generous star to the movie. It hurts me deeply to write this caustic review of some of my favorite actors & I want to make clear that none of this was their fault. It is 3 reasons: the script, the lead, & the script (maybe director/more likely the story). If this review saves the time of a single person, it will have been worth the time. I wonder if the producers can say the same about this movie (And, I LOVE the producers too!)? All the tastiest ingredients combined in the successfully tragic recipe for extra pungent, chunky poop soup. Knox D. Alford, III

Jackson Booth-Millard I knew the leading actress and one of the leading actors of this film, I didn't know the exact reason for the title, but I knew it wasn't rated very well by the critics, nevertheless I was still up for seeing what it would be like for myself. Basically in Boston, Kate Reddy (Razzie nominated Sarah Jessica Parker) is a hardworking investment fund manager and finance executive, with a "between jobs" architect husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) and two children, she is ultimately the breadwinner of the family. Many of her friends, work colleagues and family say to her "I don't know how you do it", as she only just manages to control both her working life and home life, but her workload is about to increase when she accepts a business career opportunity with New York broker Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan). Kate is having to travel back and forth for various meetings with business clients, and answering a flurry of emails from Jack, and this means chaos elsewhere, as she misses school appointments and becomes distant from husband Richard, but don't worry, in the end Kate realises what she is doing and puts her family first. Also starring Olivia Munn as Momo Hahn, Seth Meyers as Chris Bunce, Kelsey Grammar as Clark Cooper, Christina Hendricks as Allison Henderson and Jane Curtin as Marla Reddy. I agree Parker does slightly overdo the ditsy personality and is a bit annoying being the career woman, Brosnan does his usual charming guy role reasonably well, and Kinnear could have had a bit more screen time as the slightly unappreciated husband, to be honest, the only bit I found relatively funny was the lead female trying to concentrate whilst scratching with an infestation of lice in her hair, apart from that I hardly found it funny at all, it's not a film I'd recommend or watch again, it is a dull comedy. Adequate!

Steve Pulaski I Don't Know How She Does It is another film that actually has a bit of a brain in its head, but rather than recognizing it, many people dismissed it on-sight as a film that was unremarkable and generic. Some even went as far as to call it an outdated look at gender roles. The idea of a mother being the breadwinner of the family and holding down the fort, juggling a big job, kids, scheduling, and a family that needs her now more than ever is not a completely new idea, but outdated? Definitely not.Does it need to be brought up that the United States is currently in a recession? That people now have longer hours at work with less of a reward, have no foreseeable retirement in their future, have more priorities and more of a fear for their lives and families well-being thanks to an increasingly tumultuous world? I Don't Know How She Does It is slight entertainment, but beneath some of its silliness and eye-rolling circumstances lies a cast with good chemistry, a moral that is still alive and well, and a realistic depictions of the struggles in a modern family's life.Sarah Jessica Parker is Kate Reddy, a woman in banking attempting to juggle her heavy workload, time with her husband Richard (Greg Kinnear), and more time with her children. When she accepts an even more hectic job by her boss Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan), things get even more complicated and she begins to lose the time with her family that she values. However, there are bills that need to paid, expenses that won't finance themselves, and work that needs to be done if Kate and her husband want to maintain the lavish home they live in along with all its benefits.Immediately, this will be written off by some people as wealthy white people complaining when circumstances do not go there way. From the beginning, I feared that I Don't Know How She Does It would fall into the same unfortunate trap Uma Thurman's forgotten film Motherhood did, about another mother trying to juggle all the responsibilities that came with raising children. While the film featured a solid performance by Thurman, it seemed as if nothing more than a look into a bad week in the character's life. Parker's Kate, on the other hand, is having a stressful life and if something isn't done, it will last for years on end.I think that's the little note people overlooked with this film. Parker lives a life millions of American women (and men) live. Director Douglas McGrath and writer Aline Brosh McKenna (who went on to pen We Bought a Zoo with Cameron Crowe) also gently explore the double standard of women sacrificing their work to attend to their child in need. It is Olivia Munn's Wendy, a coworker of Kate, who explains this in a one-on-one monologue with the camera (a style that is done often in McGrath's film to only some avail). Wendy states how that if a man cuts work to see his child, he is an honorable and dedicated soul. However, if a woman cuts work to see her child, she is disorganized, not devoted enough, and has the company's well being in the back of her mind. I remember my mother, who worked long hours as a nurse when I was a child, tell her coworker on the phone when I had strep throat at age four that she would rather have the illness than to have her young son have it. She cut work to attend to me, and she exerted the opposite of those traits with every move she made.McGrath does a fine job at getting his cast to demonstrate these circumstances with solid chemistry and a recognition that these problems exist outside in the middle class and upper middle class world. I Don't Know How She Does It is, however, a pretty simplistic iteration of it, but the film regards its subject matter with a sense of realism and maturity, never making Kate one to laugh at (maybe only if you've experienced something she went through, like having your friend's ultrasound appear in your PowerPoint slideshow) and never milking the screenplay for emotions. Kate is obviously a strong, mentally stable woman. She doesn't need your tears.Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, and Olivia Munn. Directed by: Douglas McGrath.

dlambre173 I don't see why people today can't just appreciate a light hearted, feel good movie like this and analyze it to death. This is not Inception. This movie will not make you think deep thoughts. It is Sarah Jessica Parker doing what she does best and making you want to make her your best friend. Is there much of a plot? No. Does there really need to be in the age of Transformers? No. If you love SATC and SJP I can't imagine that you wouldn't enjoy this movie also. Honestly I thought Greg Kinnear was not a good choice for spouse, although I do like him I just thought there wasn't much chemistry between the two. Pierce was excellent, as always. This man continues to get better with age. He looks elegant and charismatic and you can still imagine him in the Bond role. Now, SJP and Pierce had chemistry! I rented this when my air conditioned went out at my house and the Batman movie shootings had recently happened so I really needed a movie to relax and escape to while watching. Don't believe all the bad reviews!