Main cast: Ashley Judd (Jane Goodale), Greg Kinnear (Ray Brown), Hugh Jackman (Eddie Alden), Marisa Tomei (Liz), Ellen Barkin (Diane Roberts), Catherine Dent (Alice), Peter Friedman (Stephen), and Laura Regan (Evelyn)
Director: Tony Goldwyn

Someone Like You, based on Laura Zigman’s chick-lit novel Animal Husbandry, is as tired as an old goat. If not for the drool-worthy presence of Hugh Jackman, I would have run away, screaming in terror, from the overblown corny dialogues and insincerely manufactured tears and smiles.

This movie does try to explain some rational theory as to why women keep falling for jerks. It’s one that lets men off the hook and one that women’s magazines would lap up (hey, it will only give their readers more excuse to shop, subscribe, and spend money to boost their increasingly nonexistent men-trampled morales). The movie takes this “Old Cow, New Cow” theory so-oo-oo seriously that it reduces the heroine Jane Goodale (get it?) into an irritating caricature.

Jane meets Ray, the man of her dreams, only to be dumped. Boo-hoo. Then she moves in with Eddie, a playboy, and they start falling for each other. Then Ray comes back, repentant. Will Jane throws Ray out on his scummy ass and tears off Eddie’s clothes? Well, in a good movie, maybe. In a direly formulaic Bridget Jones’s Diary-wannabe movie, Jane hesitates and dithers.

Ashley Judd and Marisa Tomei (who plays the editor to Judd’s character) give winning performances. Greg Kinnear is wasted as a one-note jerk. And Hugh Jackman – phwoar. Never mind that he and Judd have no chemistry whatsoever. Eye candy alert, eye candy alert – the lighting and the cinematography seems to bring out the best from the rugged, chiseled, macho sexy goodness that is Hugh Jackman. Underneath the smart, proper business man is a wild beast waiting to be unleashed, and when he does come onscreen wearing tight boxer briefs, I feel thirty years younger already.

I do wonder how Mr Jackman and Ms Judd carry off their corny lines without bursting into laughter. Poor Ms Judd, especially, has the thankless role of crying and crying and more crying as she cluelessly tries to find a scientific explanation to her bad social life.

Honey, we ladies don’t do it that way. When a man acts like a jerk, we ladies dump that scumbag and sign up to be Hugh Jackman groupies. That’s all to it. Now get in line!