Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin y Kevin Connolly sThey are famous enough and have so much star shine that they form a spectacular cast, a more than sufficient attraction for the public.
The film combines several stories, not always about love, that take place in Baltimore. Beth can’t get Neil to consider marriage, and Janine’s personality makes her boyfriend start to take an interest in another woman. Then there’s Conor, a desperate guy trapped in a relationship that’s not moving forward. Mary surfs the Internet to find a partner, while Gigi follows her neighbor’s advice in her quest to get men to like her.
What role have they given you, Ben?
Neil is played by Ben Affleck and Beth is played by Jennifer Anistontwo of Hollywood’s most popular stars. Bradley Cooper, who plays Ben, and Jennifer Connelly and Scarlett Johansson, who play Janine, Ben’s wife, and Anna, his lover. Kevin Connolly is Conor, Anna’s ex, and we must not forget the scene-stealer Ginnifer Goodwin, who plays Gigi. To finish on a high note, another great Hollywood star, who has been shining since 1982 when she made ET, actress and producer Drew Barrymore. The funny thing is that only Jennifer Connelly has an Oscar, for A beautiful mindBen Affleck has two, but none as an actor.
For Jennifer Connelly it was a particularly hard shoot since fiction and realityin this case, they were too similar. The actress plays a woman whose father died of cancer, an illness that her own father, Gerard Karl Connelly, was suffering from at the time, and who died before this film was released.
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Connelly in a scene from ‘What’s Wrong with Men’
Drew Barrymore, producer and actress
Drew Barrymore’s role is small, because her weight in the film is as a producer. It was she who chose the team of scriptwriters, led by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, with whom she made the comedy I’ve never been kissedtrained in 1999. They all worked on the script based on the book He’s just not that into you by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo.
The director chosen to captain the ship and manage the stars was Ken Kwapis, who had just finished making the comedy Huntil the priest separates uscon Robin Williams, Mandy Moore y John Krasinski. With it she made the definitive leap from television to cinema, although years later she returned to the series format with the famous Santa Clarita Diet, a somewhat gory story starring, precisely, Drew Barrymore.
Jennifer Anistos in ‘What’s Wrong with Men’
Why was it filmed in Baltimore?
There are many movies that have been filmed in Baltimore, Maryland. Among them, some as well-known as Public Enemy, The Social Network, Syriana, 12 Monkeys, Uncovered, The Heiress y Pink Flamingos, the John Waters classic. Seeing these titles it seems that the city is not the perfect setting for comedy and only Something to remember was filmed on its streets. This was what convinced the crew and delighted screenwriter Marc Silverstein, who had lived there for years and had fond memories of Baltimore.
Drew Barrymore is the producer of ‘What’s Wrong with Men?’ and has a small role
A premiere, of cinema
The film was postponed twice and finally reached theaters in February 2006. The public was interested in the film, some because they were comedy lovers and others seduced by the stars on the poster, who were extremely handsome. The box office receipts were inflated and the film was a box office hit. It grossed nearly five times what it cost to make: nearly $180 million.
An exceptional soundtrack
Like any good comedy, the most important scenes are wrapped in well-known songs. The soundtrack, composed by Cliff Eidelman, has 80 songs in total, and among them are those performed by artists and groups as well known as R.E.M., Corinne Bailey Rae, The Cure, Wilco, Talking Heads, The Black Crowes, James Morrison, Lily Allen, Maroon 5, The Human League, New Order, Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Presley and, as a surprise, Scarlett Johansson, who gives us the song “Last Goodbye.”
What do men laugh at? is now part of the RTVE Play film catalogue, which includes new titles such as EmmaUnconscious, The weakness of the Bolshevik, Bad times, Between life and deathAlone, The Bélier family…
