As a lifelong Seattleite, I was especially interested in this drama set in my hometown.  Usually, when watching a Seattle-set film, the feeling is akin to watching a foreign film… not surprisingly, since many productions use Vancouver, Canada as a stand-in.  Fortunately, despite some egregious errors, Love Happens actually feels like it is taking place in the Emerald City.  This despite the fact that star Jennifer Aniston reportedly never set foot in my fair city.

Aniston plays Eloise, a flower shop owner who serves as the love interest for the film’s focal character Burke Ryan, played by Aaron Eckhart.  Ryan is a self-help guru who was launched to semi-stardom following the success of his book about coping with the loss of a loved one.  The film opens with Burke reluctantly arriving in Seattle for a weeklong seminar in a downtown hotel.  He’s reluctant because Seattle isn’t just another city on his book seminar tour; it’s also the city in which his wife passed away three years ago following a fatal accident.

Although Burke has been effectively helping others deal with their grief, he has yet to face his own, a fact that is shoved in his face when his father-in-law arrives at the seminar to confront him.  Meanwhile, he begins spending time with Eloise who slowly learns the truth and takes an active interest in helping him face his grief.

While watching this film, I couldn’t help but think that the title was a bit of a misnomer.  Sure, there is romance in the film, but it is far from the focus of the story.  The film is more about coping with the loss of a loved one than it is about finding a new one.  The most moving scenes in the film are not between Burke and Eloise, but between Burke and his father-in-law, or Burke and a contractor-turned-janitor named Walter who is still struggling with the death of his son.  These scenes often seem a little too staged or trite, but they are still quite moving (at least until the “slow clap” rears its ugly head) thanks in large part to the solid casting of Martin Sheen and John Carroll Lynch in those roles.  

For those hoping for more of a romance, the movie does not completely abandon its title.  There are some fun scenes between the two stars and both Aniston and Eckhart are quite likeable in the film.  Although Eloise’s graffiti fetish is never quite explained, it does make for an adorable “meet cute” device that is fleshed out nicely as the film goes along.  They also have a nice moment atop a phone company vehicle viewing an outdoor concert that would be a great place to watch a concert in Seattle if it weren’t so geographically inaccurate.

That’s an error that no one outside of the Pacific Northwest is going to notice, however; and even though I noticed, it was not nearly enough to distract from a film that I otherwise quite enjoyed. Begin slow clap now.

Love Happens is rated PG-13 for “some language, including sexual references.”  Aside from some risqué poetry, there’s not much to worry about here. 

Courtesy of a local publicist, Jeff attended a promotional screening of Love Happens.