Something's Gotta Give
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNancy Meyers
Written byNancy Meyers
Produced by
  • Nancy Meyers
  • Bruce A. Block
Starring
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byJoe Hutshing
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • December 12, 2003 (2003-12-12) (United States)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million
Box office$266.7 million[1]

Something's Gotta Give is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton as professionals who find love for each other in later life, despite being complete opposites. Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet co-star, with Frances McDormand, Paul Michael Glaser, Jon Favreau, and KaDee Strickland playing key supporting roles.

Something's Gotta Give received positive reviews from critics, and was a box office hit, grossing $266 million worldwide. For her performance, Keaton received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, while Nicholson received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Plot

Harry Sanborn is a wealthy New York record company owner who only dates women under 30, including his latest girlfriend, Marin Klein. The two drive to her mother's Hamptons beach house, expecting to be alone. However, her mother, a playwright named Erica Barry, and Erica's sister Zoe, unexpectedly arrive.

After an awkward dinner, the night turns disastrous when—during foreplay with Marin—Harry has a heart attack and is rushed to a hospital. The attending doctor, Julian Mercer, tells Harry to stay nearby for a few days, so Harry reluctantly stays with Erica. Their personalities clash and create awkward living arrangements at first, but they soon find charming qualities in each other and begin to form a connection. Harry's relationship with her daughter and Erica's budding relationship with Julian become obstacles to their growing attraction. Marin tells her mother that she will break up with Harry, but he ends things first. Harry and Erica spend more time together and eventually have sex. Julian tells Harry he has improved enough to return to the city. He and Erica share an awkward goodbye, as despite their strong feelings, Harry is clearly hesitant to enter into a serious relationship.

Marin receives news that her father, Erica's ex-husband, Dave Klein, is getting remarried, to a doctor who is only two years older than she. Though Erica is unaffected by the news, Marin is devastated and pressures her mother into accompanying her to a dinner. At dinner, Erica sees Harry at another table with another, much younger woman. An argument follows and Erica admits that she is in love with Harry, but he does not reciprocate, so she ends things between them and leaves. Harry suffers from what he believes is another heart attack, but in the emergency room he is told it was a panic attack.

Devastated, Erica returns home where she cries almost nonstop for several weeks, pouring her heartbreak into a new play about a woman who falls in love with her daughter's boyfriend, titling it "A Woman to Love," a phrase Harry had used to describe Erica. Harry hears about the play and rushes to the theater, where it is being rehearsed. Despite her denials, it is obvious that she has used the most personal details of their affair in the play. When he tells her he still cares about her, Erica rebuffs him. After learning his character dies in the play, he suffers another panic attack. At the hospital, he is told he needs to de-stress, and he relocates temporarily to the Bahamas.

Six months later, Erica's play is a huge success. Harry pays Marin a visit to apologize for any past disrespect, and discovers that she is now happily married and pregnant. Marin informs Harry that Erica is in Paris celebrating her birthday. Harry flies to Paris and surprises Erica at her favorite restaurant. He tells Erica that he has been reaching out to all the young women he had affairs with in an attempt to atone for his heartless behavior. Julian, whom Erica is now dating, appears.

Harry, Erica and Julian have dinner together, and part amicably outside the restaurant. While Harry gazes in heartache over the river Seine, Erica arrives. She tells him that Julian realized she still loves Harry and decided to step aside to let them be together. Harry tells her that at age 63, he's in love for the first time in his life, and they embrace.

A year later at a restaurant, Erica and Harry, now married, are out with Marin, her husband Danny and their new baby daughter, celebrating life as a loving family.

Cast

Soundtrack

Something's Gotta Give was a co-production between Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. Both companies have released soundtracks for the movie. As of 2004, the soundtrack has sold 172,000 copies in United States.[2]

The following soundtrack was released on December 9, 2003 by Warner Bros. Records.

Track listing – Warner Bros.

  1. "Butterfly" – Crazy Town
  2. "Sing a Song" – Earth, Wind & Fire
  3. "Oooh Baby" – C+C Music Factory
  4. "Samba de mon cœur qui bat" – Coralie Clément
  5. "Fibre de Verre" – Paris Combo
  6. "Let's Get It On" – Marvin Gaye
  7. "O Beijo (The Kiss)" – Claudio Ragazzi
  8. "Here We Go" – Grits
  9. "Que reste-t-il de nos amours" – Charles Trenet
  10. "It's On Tonight" – Johnny Rourke
  11. "You Can Get It If You Really Want" – Jimmy Cliff
  12. "Have Dinner" – Badly Drawn Boy
  13. "Assedic" – Les Escrocs
  14. "I've Got a Crush on You" – Steve Tyrell
  15. "Graffito Disguise" – Mason Daring
  16. "I Only Have Eyes for You" – The Flamingos
  17. "La Vie en Rose" – Louis Armstrong
  18. "So Nice (Summer Samba)" – Astrud Gilberto
  19. "Boum!" – Charles Trenet
  20. "Je Cherche un Homme" – Eartha Kitt
  21. "Sunday Morning" – Maroon 5
  22. "Julian Calls" – Badly Drawn Boy
  23. "C'est si bon" – Eartha Kitt
  24. "Brazil" – Django Reinhardt
  25. "Exactly Like You" – Christopher Westlake and Bonnie Greenberg
  26. "Sweet Lorraine" – Stephane Grappelli, Ilsa Eckinger, Ike Isaacs and Diz Disley
  27. "I Only Have Eyes for You" – Michael Melvoin, John Guerin, Tony Dumas, and Mitch Holder
  28. "Learn How to Fall" – Paul Simon
  29. "La Vie en Rose" – Jack Nicholson

The following soundtrack was released on February 23, 2004 by Columbia Records.

Track listing – Columbia

  1. "La Vie en Rose" – Louis Armstrong
  2. "I've Got a Crush on You" – Steve Tyrell
  3. "I Only Have Eyes for You" – The Flamingos
  4. "So Nice (Summer Samba)" – Astrud Gilberto
  5. "Remember Me" – Heitor Pereira
  6. "Samba de mon cœur qui bat" – Coralie Clément
  7. "Que reste-t-il de nos amours" – Charles Trenet
  8. "Assedic" – Les Escrocs
  9. "Je Cherche un Homme" – Eartha Kitt
  10. "C'est si bon" – Eartha Kitt
  11. "Brazil" – Django Reinhardt
  12. "Sweet Lorraine" – Stephane Grappelli, Ilsa Eckinger, Ike Isaacs and Diz Disley
  13. "Love Makes the World Go 'Round" – Deon Jackson
  14. "La Vie en Rose" – Jack Nicholson

The film was originally scored by Alan Silvestri and orchestrated by Tony Blondal, however creative differences led to Silvestri being replaced at the last minute by members of Remote Control Productions. As Silvestri's music was already recorded, some of it remains in the film.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 72% based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 6.60/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though it occasionally stumbles into sitcom territory, Something's Gotta Give is mostly a smart, funny romantic comedy, with sharp performances from Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, and Keanu Reeves."[3] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[4] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[5]

Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, felt the performances of the film's stars, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, were among their best, and that Nicholson's acting, as his role covered a wider range of emotions, was the more complex.[6] The reviewer praised the film for being a romantic comedy for adults:

The adult romance is a dying genre in our era, but movies as wise and fun as Something's Gotta Give have always been rare. It's a comedy with hilarious moments, and yet with an essential seriousness at its core: Two people in the autumn of life find love.[6]

Roger Ebert describes the film's dialogue as "smart". Although noting that Keanu Reeves's role "seems like nothing more than a walking plot complication", he praises the performances of Keaton and Nicholson: "A movie like this depends crucially on its stars. To complain that Nicholson is playing "himself" – or that Keaton is also playing a character very much like her public persona – is missing the point. Part of the appeal depends on the movie's teasing confusion of reality and fiction."[7]

Accolades

Awards
Award Category Recipients Result
Academy Awards Best Actress Diane Keaton Nominated
Art Directors Guild Awards Excellence in Production Design: Feature Film – Contemporary Film Jon Hutman (production designer), John Warnke (art director), Steven Graham (art director), Ashley Burnham (assistant art director), Hinju Kim (assistant art director)[8] Nominated
Artios Awards Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Actress Diane Keaton Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Jack Nicholson Nominated
Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical Diane Keaton Won
Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing in a Feature: Music, Feature Film Andrew Silver (music editor/scoring editor), Kenneth Karman (music editor), Lee Scott (music editor)[8] Nominated
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Awards Best Actress Diane Keaton Won
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Actress Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actress – Motion Picture Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nominated

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Home media

Something's Gotta Give was released on VHS on June 8, 2004 and DVD on March 30, 2004 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video.

References

  1. ↑ "Something's Gotta Give (2003)". The-Numbers.com. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ "2004's Top 30 Soundtracks". Billboard. November 20, 2004. p. 93. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Something's Gotta Give (2003)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  4. ↑ "Something's Gotta Give Reviews". Metacritic.
  5. ↑ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  6. 1 2 LaSalle, Mick (December 12, 2003). "Finally, a grown-up love story – Nicholson and Keaton do maybe their best work ever as they create a nice, mellow glow in 'Something's Gotta Give'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ Ebert, Roger (December 12, 2003). "Something's Gotta Give". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Something's Gotta Give - IMDb, retrieved May 31, 2020
  9. ↑ "AFI's 10 Top 10 Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
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