Little Black Book (2004)

A trashy idea that had little appeal and a title that gave it less appeal. That is how I regarded this movie. However, years after it's release, I saw it on cable. As I watched it, I was surprised at where the plot wound up. Stacy (Britanny Murphy) makes a lot of mistakes, throughout the movie, and her character does many questionable things. But in the end, she displays "gut wrenching" honesty that ties the movie together. This took the plot to somewhere that romantic comedies seldom go.After Stacy's powerful gut wrenching honesty, we get an unrealistic fairy tale ending that I choose to ignore. (I pretend the movie ends after her backstage confrontation with Barb, played by Holly Hunter, or after her circumstantial meeting with a former boyfriend, Bean.) The movie did not make me laugh. But as a drama, it was good.

I went into this movie not expecting an epic (come on!), but at least a halfway decent film to take my mind off things for an hour and a half. And, after wasting that hour and a half on this pathetic excuse for a rom-com, all I can say is: wow. I didn't think it was possible for a movie to be this bad, even after seeing Rumor Has It... (side note- don't see that one either!) I can usually put up with Brittany Murphy- I loved Uptown Girls- but she got on my last nerve. The plot was clumsily thrown together, and for a supposed comedy, I laughed out loud exactly once (at the phone smashing bit- gotta admit, that was hilarious). Even some die-hard fans of this movie admit the ending was one of the worst in romantic comedy history, and as a complete non-fan, it was just appalling. The only part I appreciated even a little bit was the way the writer avoided the trap of having Bean and Stacy get together. But overall, without a doubt one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

Holly Hunter is always worth watching. But this was my first Brittany Murphy movie and I'll go out of my way not to see her again.Her bug-eyed expression, which she must think is appropriate for every scene, plus her open-mouthed pout and twitchy jerking from expression to expression make this movie almost unwatchable. She seems to think she's the next Meg Ryan -- she's not even close. I tried to enjoy the flick in spite of her; it can't be done. She awkwardly jerks through every scene.Holly Hunter is great as a more cynical version of her character in Broadcast News. Ron Livingston demonstrates the art of subtle acting, something Murphy badly needs lessons on.

Determined to learn the truth about her secretive boyfriend, Derek (Ron Livingston), Stacy (Brittany Murphy) becomes a bona fide snoop in this comedy. Associate producer of Kippie Kann's (Kathy Bates) popular talk show, Stacy's dying to find out about Derek's past relationships. Helped by Barb (Holly Hunter), she gets the names of his ex-lovers and interviews them, supposedly for an upcoming show. But what she learns only adds to her confusion.This is actually my first attempt at writing a review for any film. I'm not sure why they request a minimum of ten lines of text, or if I can come up with that much to say. All I can say is that it is very difficult to understand how this movie could have such a low overall rating. The acting was, indeed excellent. It held my interest all the way through. Although I don't believe it qualifies as a "suspense", I certainly was kept wondering what would happen next! I Highly recommend viewing!