User Reviews

"Little Black Book" is like a light-weight character study more than a romantic comedy. The late Brittany Murphy is in the lead, and I enjoyed her and the introduction to her character. I also enjoyed all of the supporting actors. I enjoyed it so much upon first viewing, that I bought the DVD.

After multiple viewings though, the so-called charming aspects become quite grating. It's very manipulative and when its true colours show through, you see how much is not to like. Although captivating, the main female characters don't have many good qualities, too controlling and dominating. The minor female characters are paper-thin and boring.

The screenplay manipulates us too much, and our empathies (if we actually have any) are forced from where they would naturally lie. I do like the overall story of Murphy's character, but then it's no longer a romantic comedy, and there's not enough to recommend "Little Black Book".

"Little Black Book" examines the foibles of one young woman (Murphy) who decides to "research" her significant other's prior romantic life as an adjunct to a TV reality talk show (think Jerry Springer) and learns some unexpected lessons in life in the process. A lively, fun, and occasionally poignant little bit of chick flick fluff, this movie suffered at the hands of critics, public, and chicks perhaps because people like a little romance with their romantic comedies and "LBB" has none to offer. An unexpectedly busy little story to nowhere which takes the chick flick milieu off course and into a sort of genre-bending neverland, this film seems to be trying to conjure some vague moral which never quite crystallizes. Nevertheless, Murphy and Hunter make capable bookends shoring up a pleasant assortment of side characters while the story slowly erodes their best efforts. Recommended for fans of the players but don't expect the usual satisfying romcom fare. Expect a Palm Pilot commercial instead. (C+)

Okay, this has to be one of the worst 'romantic comedies' I've ever seen - its a completely unbelievable plot line, with a far-too-easily-HATEable heroine - who, by the way, overacts throughout the entire film. There are far too many close-ups in the last 15 mins of Brittany Murphy's quivering lips and tear-filled eyes - takes away any possible sympathy you might have been tempted to feel for her self-involved egomaniac character. And any rom-com that leaves the viewer at the end of a tortuous two hours with neither an idea of how romantically- happy the heroine ends up (whether one actually cares or not) OR whether there's any chance she might die in some horrible accident can really be summed up with the words "a complete and utter waste of my time" - that I'll never get back!

It is very easy for a film like Little Black Book to be quickly labeled as just another "Chick Flick" starring a 20-something actress that looks pretty. But after actually taking a chance on a genre I usually run away from, I have to say this was a pleasant experience.

Brittany Murphy (Clueless) stars as the journalist-driven career girl taking on an associate producer job at a Oprah-type talk show. One of her fellow producers, played by the very-hot-for-her-age Holly Hunter gives her the usual talk of the business of how things are run. During a ideas meeting with the Executive Producer (played by the hilarious character actor, Stephen Tobolowsky, whom I met last month) the idea is pitched about snooping into a boyfriend's little black book or in this 21st century, a Palm Pilot.

The film manages to avoid the usual chick-flick clichés and gives us a central- character with a back-story and more than one-dimension (take that Mandy Moore). From the great soundtrack by Carly Simon (whom makes a cameo), to the always positive force of Diane Sawyer(?), this movie has heart and a wicked sense of humor when it comes to exposing talk shows for their secrets, lies, and pure entertainment souls.

So, here is a sci-fi/action/thriller genre fan, who will try a little harder to give chick-flicks a little more of the silver screen.

FIN

After viewing this movie, I'd have to say that it was probably the worst decision of my recent past to spend money on it. This movie is just god-awful. Brittany Murphy portrays a girlfriend who is crafty and intuitive but at the same time clueless. Suspecting hidden motives and doubting everything, which gives us the answer to the rhetorical question posed in the beginning (the answer to which, by the way, is exactly what you would expect). This movie it seems cannot decide whether it wants to be another pointless fun movie or try and get something serious and philosophical across. It fails miserably at both. The acting is dull, and there is no interest in trying to understand the characters (the poor writing makes the viewer give the extra effort to figure them out for themselves which frankly is not worth it). Recycled cheap laughs (singing in the bathroom) are just stupid and the whole movie seems like a commercial for a certain musician who in my opinion is just as good at creating moving songs as this movie is at getting good reviews. Basically I warn you very strongly not to see this: the characters go on a journey but seem intent on leaving you in the dust as they do, lackluster performances and lame jokes accentuate the diverse plot in a way that takes whatever potential this movie had to be decent and throws it down the drain.

All romantic comedies follow a standard formula: Boy meets girl. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back. As the audience, we're supposed to enjoy the How of the formula. And often times that formula is very entertaining. Along comes this refreshing, unpredictable "Little Black Book" that does not follow the familiar formula, yet is a romantic comedy -- and a very well made one, I think -- the cumulative vote so far is less than 5. Makes no sense to me. Here's what you get with "Little Black Book." An intelligent script well directed. Brittany Murphy is impressive in a very seamless performance. Julianne Nicholson practically steals the show. Plus Josie Maran steams the whole thing up. What else do you want? 7 out of 10

After all of the hype for this movie, I really thought that it would be good, but the first time I tried watching it I made it through about 15 minutes before realizing I wasn't paying attention to a word they said. I tried to watch it again to give it the benefit of the doubt and I was truly disappointed. Usually I like Brittany Murphey's movies, but I just didn't care for the story in this one. The previews definitely made it look better than I thought it would, and while some parts were OK, for the most part the movie was not good. I would not recommend spending money to rent it, if it comes on a movie channel, then maybe give it the time, who knows, some might like it.

"Question: How does a girl who jumps, eyes open, down a rabbit hole, plummeting into chaos, come out the other end unchanged? The answer? She doesn't."

The movie starts off not with a joke, not with two people falling in love, but with a profound statement. This film, although sometimes dramatic, sometimes fun and sometimes heartfelt, holds more than just what lies on the surface.

With an amazing twist and pretty well thought out characters (some superficial and others that are quite the opposite), I found more in this movie than I thought I would. I sat down to watch a romantic comedy. And what I came away with was something to think about and a story that made me feel something more than just a bit of satisfaction-- I felt learned. I felt that someone was telling me something; wisdom was being shared.

Sit down with this one and don't just watch it. Think about it. Delve into what it's saying. And I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see what it really has to offer...

It's unfortunate that this movie will be overshadowed by bigger box office draws this summer because it is far better than anyone anticipates. Kathy Bates turns in a good performance as an aging talk show host; Holly Hunter as the talk show host producer who is getting to a certain age where she must either move up the ladder or or at least leave an impression. The villainous side of her chooses the latter and our story begins as she takes new associate producer Brittany Murphy under her wing and persuades her to delve into her boyfriend's PDA to find out about his ex-loves. As the old adage goes...be careful what you look for you just might find it. Okay, Brittany Murphy is no Meryl Streep, but she ain't bad to look at and the ending is a real treat. We liked it.

I saw this movie when I attended a free screening of it a couple weeks before it was released, and while I am no big fan of chick flicks, I had hopes for this film. The premise, a woman mining her boyfriend's black book and getting know his exes in order to get to know the real him, sounded interesting enough. And the following quote from Shakespeare (The Tempest) appeared on the screen before the titles came up:

Hell is empty; All the devils are here.

Ah, I thought to myself, this HAS to be a well-thought out movie, since the last movie I saw with a Shakespearean quote in it (Runaway Train) had been very very good. But I was wrong. This movie was to be a runaway train of a different sort.

In Little Black Book Brittney Murphy plays Stacy, an aspiring associate producer on a female version of the Jerry Springer Show, hosted by Kathy Bates as an aging and worn out trash TV hostess. Stacy's boyfriend (Ron Livingston of Office Space) goes on a two week business trip and, if you can believe this, forgets his handheld device and calls her to tell her he needs a couple of numbers from it. She sees a name in the address list and starts to get curious about his former girlfriends.

At this point, her bizarre chain-smoking overworked former bus driver and former something else (I can't recall at the moment) coworker played by Holly Hunter--who smokes everywhere indoors, which I haven't seen happen in real life since the late 70s--suggests she call one of the names from the handheld, a woman who just happens to be a supermodel (of course) who was on the show a while back, and stage a fake interview. But this fake interview is so that Murphy's character can actually gain info about her boyfriend's exes so that she can find more out about him while also doing the background for a potential show about little black books, but then it turns out later she isn't going to do the story about the black books, but then we aren't really sure.

Are you with me so far?

From this point, any semblance of a coherent story falls apart as she meets the other girlfriends but never really spends any time actually talking to them. Isn't she supposed to be talking to them about her ex? But no, she is only really interviewing them to come on the show for a different reason, so she really can't talk to them about her boyfriend, at least not directly. Instead, she has to lie and pretend to be doing something different and much time and steam is spent on side trips and watching the shocked look on her face. There is an undeveloped subplot involving the show's personnel as well as a nebbishy male coworker played by Kevin Sussman. The poor coworker's story seems to serve no other purpose than to use screen time, since the subplot involving him comes from nowhere and then goes nowhere.

As a result of Stacy not being able to talk openly to the exes that she meets become even more flat and one-dimensional than they already are. On top of that, Holly Hunter's character is given more weight than it should be for such a poorly drawn character, but that is perhaps due to Holly Hunter's starpower.

There are moments throughout the movie that drag on, and on, and on, and too many moments that were supposed to be funny just aren't. In the middle of a nice moment between the two main characters before he goes on his trip his dog passes gas. Not once, but twice. Har har. Sadly, the third act has a riveting climax that ties up a couple of loose ends but leaves us feeling cheated. By the time the movie finally finds a rhythm it is too late.

If you want to see a relationship movie that is thoughtful, witty, and charming, see High Fidelity with John Cusak. The difference between the two is so great it calls up the comparison Mark Twain made between the right word and the almost right word: If High Fidelity is lightning, then Little Black Book is the lightning bug.

1 Star

Stacy Holt (Brittany Murphy) is an immature and insecure young woman raised listening to the songs of Carly Simon and aiming to work producing the talk show of a great network. She lives with her boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston), but she becomes the associate producer of a sensationalist reality show in a local television presented by Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates). In the production of the show, a nest of snakes, she becomes friend of Barb (Holly Hunter), and once Derek has never talked about his former relationships with Stacy, she is convinced by Barb to investigate his previous girlfriends. When Derek travels and forgets his palmtop, Stacy sneaks into his agenda and decides to interview his three previous girlfriends, the supermodel Lulu Fritz (Josie Maran), the gynecologist Dr. Rachel Keyes (Rashida Jones) and the sweet restauranteur Joyce (Julianne Nicholson), of whom she becomes friend. However, a great surprise waits for Stacy, in a game of manipulation. "Little Black Book" is a delightful romantic comedy, a tale of manipulation, with a magnificent conclusion. Brittany Murphy is too much infantile for her professional position, but her character is in the beginning of her career and therefore her naive behavior is totally acceptable. I felt a particular attraction for the beauty and the sweet face of Julianne Nicholson, and I do not remember her in any other movie I have recently seen. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Agenda Secreta do Meu Namorado" ("The Hidden Agenda of My Boyfriend")

I am so disappointed with this movie. Even after the bad reviews I still wanted to see it due to an interesting plot and great cast. I really liked Just Married, so I figured that even with it's low B-grade feel I would still enjoy it. Alas, I feel cheated and a little dizzy. The cinematography seemed messy and pointless. There were some great opportunities for interesting coverage, instead we are left with cheesy cliché, boring frames. Direction...was there any? The narration started to become stale and at times distracted from what was actually happening on screen, who knows it could have been more interesting! I feel sorry for the producers and editors that tried to salvage some semblance of a story from this waste of film! I've seen student productions with more coherence! I'm left feeling as though I've missed the point. So much talent wasted.

7 is my score for a movie that I enjoyed for different reasons, story, camera work, sound, dialog; but managed to do something so stupid or thoughtless that it managed to ruin the movie as a whole. 7 means, if you want a good movie that will make you all happy inside, stay away. But if you're not a jerk and you appreciate cinematography as an art form, you may see something in this movie that makes watching it, and all the garbage that it carries along with it worth while.

I never wanted to see this movie. It's not that I am against chick flicks, I'm not (is As Good as It Gets a chick flick? That was a good movie). It's just that the people hired to promote the movie decided that misrepresenting the movie as another stupid romantic female comedy was a good idea. What probably happened was, people went, expecting the movie to be full of the shots that were advertised, and were disappointed because it attempted to accomplish something beyond the humdrum new boyfriend, palm pilot, fart joke, fainting, lost love, they end up happy routine. That was what I expected, and I was so pleasantly surprised that it was nothing like the advertisements, that I almost gave it a nine. but, sadly I started thinking, and the amount of loose ends at the end of the movie killed it completely. Not one character in the movie had a complete conclusion to their story line. It boggles my mind how they could let this happen. It seems impossible that the people who made the film made the ending. I loved the film, there was much less palm pilot than I expected, there was a great vibe to the film, some people put Carly Simon down, or what ever her name is, but the reoccurring music, and deviations off the linear path it set was what made the movie enjoyable.

If you read anything in this comment read this: stop the film about ten minutes before it ends right when Stacey says "I need to go jump into the river". Stop it there and insert your own ending. If you saw the same movie as me it should be easy, because the characters are well developed (admittedly, towards the end, they could have easily had a big explanation that would have made everyone happy, the characters need not explain themselves, because the events of the movie did a wonderful job at conveying every character in that movie. It's a shame that all that work and good writing went to waste on such a crummy ending. Though I must say that it at least tries to be a proper ending, making it second only to Darkness, as the worst ending I have ever seen.

I want you to understand that I watch a lot of movies, and I do toss the phrase "worst movie ever" around, but mostly in a joking way. But, in the case of 'Little Black Book' I am serious when I say that it is by far the worst movie I have ever had the horror of witnessing. Lets start with the screenplay itself. Its really an intriguing idea, an innocent young woman descends into a lying, malicious person out of self-doubt and the fear that her man is cheating. It's not your typical regurgitated summer romance. It tries to be a character study, a commentary about the self-doubt that plagues women in our society, and a warning to women in the same situation as Stacy (Murphy).

Unfortunately, the movie is none of the above listed things. Stacy narrates the movie and instead of accepting herself for what she is, she ends up pleading with the audience, trying to convince herself, and the audience that she is not a completely horrible person, which really undermines the whole story. Murphy is not fit for this part, she comes off as shallow and delivers most of the poorly written dialogue as a stupid school girl. Really, the only bright spot in this movie is when Stacy gets what is coming to her (I laughed actually) and Holly Hunter. Hunter plays Stacy's co-worker Barb, who is always the devil on her shoulder, egging her on to worse and worse deeds. She is simply perfect for the role and is thoroughly evil.

All in all, this was a complete waste of time and money, I would encourage all to not only avoid this movie but to run the other way.

it was a comedy or drama. Considering it's not funny, I would call it a drama. Only problem is it wasn't that interesting. It's about a girl named Staci, who gets hired as an assistant producer for this Jerry Springer type of show. She gets showed the ropes by another producer, Barb. Staci's boyfriend, leaves for a couple of weeks, and she finds his palm pilot. With encouragement from Barb, she looks up old girlfriends and goes to interview them under false pretenses. She learns that her boyfriend still sees some of his ex's and hasn't disclosed everything to her. But, in the end, the joke's on Staci's.

FINAL VERDICT: Not an interesting plot. It was boring, so don't waste your time.

Is it all right to say that this film surprised me? Will I be shot whenever I try to talk to anyone about film if I say this? Well, I am going to take a risk and be honest with everyone when I say that I actually enjoyed this film. It was not at all what I was expecting and answered the question as to why Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates would choose to do a film of this level. This was a very quirky film that suddenly went into this dark cavern at the end that left my jaw hanging wide open. Little Black Book speaks about relationships, the honesty of life, and the brutal truth of the television programming we like to call, reality television. Ever watch Jerry Springer and wonder how they get guests like that onto the show and be surprised by the truth that unfolds? Well, strangely enough, Little Black Book answers those questions. While Brittany Murphy headlines this film, she is definitely not the star. Her acting ability takes back seat to some of the most powerful actresses in Hollywood and even backseat to a story that did not come from Hollywood's recycling bin. This was a surprise film for me and proves yet again that you cannot judge a film by the way that the marketing team has decided to create the box and previews.

I mentioned that Murphy's acting was not the pinnacle point to this film, and I cannot stress that enough. The true stars of this film are Holly Hunter and Kathy Bates. I though that they took these exceptionally small roles and defined the entire film with them. This is especially truth with Holly Hunter. Her character confused me throughout the entire film, constantly making me think that she took this role to pay more bills and that was all. Then, when the ending took shape, I knew exactly why she agreed to this performance. It was outstanding. The ability that Hunter has to contain all that she needs until the very end was amazing for this film. Normally, you don't expect to see that caliber of acting in a film called Little Black Book, but you do. Hunter plays the part of the little red devil on Murphy's shoulder so well that it would be hard not to see it until the final moments. I don't want to give anything away, but do not give up on the performances until the climactic ending. You will be utterly surprised. The same for Kathy Bates that seemed like she didn't do anything special, but I saw that she did. She, again, took a very small character and almost centralized her to the entire film. Not something I was expecting with this little ditty of a film. Ron Livingston does decently well playing Berger … I mean Derek. While Murphy falls at the end of the pile due to constantly trying to upscale those actresses that surround her. You could tell that she was trying to keep the focus on herself instead of working with her surrounding counter-parts. This was the only negative aspect to the acting, the battle between Murphy's ego and the rest of the ensemble cast.

If this film could win any award out there, I think that it deserves a writing award. Screenwriter Melissa Carter has taken everything we know about romantic Hollywood films and almost repotted it into the world of reality television. These were two avenues that I didn't think could be combined, but they were and done with the skill of a find author. What I mean by this is that the story flowed. There were not any jumps, bumps, or painful moments from the beginning to the end. The writing was surprisingly strong for this film. I was not expecting some of the lines to come from our actress's mouth, but they did and were very poignant to the plot. This was not a film overly cluttered with cheesy catch-lines like "You've Got Mail" and "You had me at 'Hello"". The lines for this film were dark and a bit disturbing which surprised me that I didn't catch on to them earlier in the film. Again, I was ready for a simple romantic comedy, but found something disturbingly original and different in both the acting and writing.

Finally, I would like to say that without modern technology this would have been a very simple love story. The characters would have remained in one place without the excitement of a PALM or computer. So, my next question to you is this, is modern technology the true villain of this film? There is the obvious one that appears near the end, but I don't think the idea of technology as the villain is ever presented. If it weren't for the PALM that Derek gives Stacy, none of this would have happened. They would have gone about their lives happy and none the wiser. Perhaps this film would have still been made, except with the modern technology it would have been labeled as a sci-fi, and that would have been an all together wild ride for anyone tuning in. Perhaps I have wandered off the beaten path a bit with this idea, but as I was writing this review I was thinking of how much emphasis there is on technology in this film, and perhaps director Nick Hurran was slightly slapping us in the face with this notion of evil technology. Something to think about as you watch this film.

Overall, I was impressed. As the laughter from my peers continues to engulf me, I stand by my decision and proudly wave it above my head. If you can get past Murphy's role and acting in this film, then I think you will also see the originality and creativity behind this picture.

Grade: **** out of *****

Seriously! I enjoyed this movie immensely because, besides being funny, the plots and sub-plots kept you as a viewer very busy keeping up with it all. But it can and should be done! It was quite a delight.

One of the most interesting parts of the movie was the play on our current culture that allows and even encourages shows to compel us to put on display some of our "weirdness" in America, even though much of it may be fully contrived - contrived still exists in someone's imagination at least.

Brittany Murphy is so entertaining to watch. Holly Hunter is a can't miss in any movie. And the remaining supporting cast all seem to be living their lives and individually all represent aspects of our regular lives that, of course, we would not necessarily wish to air on a TV show! Worth seeing for sure! You'll laugh and cry!

I watched this movie because I like many of the actors: Holly Hunter, Kathy Bates, and Ron Livingston. Brittany Murphy is cute and appealing. But every scene was excruciatingly painful and there was nothing to redeem the film. The narration (by the main character) was trite, the plot was thin, and too much time was spent on the behind-the-scenes of a trashy daytime talk show (we all know that these shows are drivel and the producers lack integrity---please tell us something that we don't know). If it weren't a lazy Sunday morning, I would have certainly changed the channel. Please, don't be fooled, and don't waste your time. I have never bothered to review a movie based on how negatively I feel about it, but this movie took the cake.