Banking on Parker

I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011)
Certified: 12
Duration: 89 minutes
Directed by: Douglas McGrath
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Busy Philipps, Olivia Munn, Christina Hendricks, Emma Rayne Lyle , Kelsey Grammer, Jessica Szohr
KRS release

Based on journalist Allison Pearson’s 2002 best-selling novel, I Don’t Know How She Does It capitalises on Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex and the City days and fan base.

Douglas McGrath knows his actress is the selling point of the film and so she is always in focus.

The movie is all about the work/life balance that modern women strive to achieve; yet this struggle comes complete with pleading, cajoling, forcing and nervous tics in this modern urban fairytale setting.

Life is not easy for Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker).

She is a successful research analyst, working at a Boston firm run by Clark Cooper (Kelsey Grammer) and is always competing with Chris Bunce (Seth Meyers). She is also a mother and tries to juggle between family and work.

She finds solace in her friend Allison (Christina Hendricks).

Both find the looks they get from the “perfect”, stay-at-home mums Wendy and Janine (Busy Philips, Sarah Shahi) irritating.

Kate’s husband, architect Richard (Greg Kinnear), is equally busy and the kids, Emily (Emma Rayne Lyle) and Ben (Julius & Theodore Goldberg) see more of their nanny Paula (Jessica Szohr) than their parents. Matters escalate when Kate is placed on an assignment to work with the high-flying Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) – which means an increased commitment and a more demanding job.

Dressed in the guise of a romantic comedy, this film is not meant to be a drama.

So while we can acknowledge the problems Kate faces, we never really feel her anxiety, and we are always sure she’ll come out on top.

The film will have the women in the audience envious of the way Kate resolves one situation after another.

The humour on show serves its purpose and keeps the film’s appeal and style rolling.

Ms Parker makes everything look easy and seems to get by simply by getting her hair in a bit of a tangle, and even this is turned to her advantage.

She is well balanced by the likable Greg Kinnear and the always suave Pierce Brosnan.

Christina Hendricks, from the Mad Men TV series, is given the best friend role which she runs away with it very effectively and she provides more than her fair share of style.

Their light performances are in contrast with the sometimes risqué comedies that Hollywood is churning out of late.

This film is not meant as a handbook for the modern working mother but rather as a welcome break from the daily grind.

Couple that with the old-fashioned feel of the film and it will give you a feel for the classic films of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

I Don’t Know How She Does It looks at life’s troubles with an optimism that is very much needed in today’s society.