Sexless in the city

>> Someone Like You reeks of a bad rip-off

by SIOBHÀN O'CONNOR

The slightly quirky, pontificating female voiceover was the first sign. The references to Manhattan hot spots followed suit, as did the girl-talk over lattes and frequent outfit changes. It took roughly 15 minutes for it to become so painfully obvious that it seems dumb to mention: the latest Ashley Judd vehicle, Someone Like You, is a total Sex and the City rip-off. While borrowing material is commonplace in film, it's also commonplace to change things around a little to make it newer, fresher and, ideally, better. No dice for this one, though.

Ashley Judd stars as the very plain Jane, a talent booker for a trendy talk show who has as much bad luck in her professional life as she does in her love life. She's basically Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie from Sex: she's a hot, young professional (with a much less exciting wardrobe) who gets attached to commitment-phobic men. After getting duped and dumped for the last time, she moves in with her sexy, rugged co-worker, Eddie (Hugh Jackman), and the two engage one another in a game of sexual tension and I-hate-you/I-love-you banter.

If the parallels to the HBO vehicle weren't enough already, Judd's high-energy journalist friend Liz (Marisa Tomei) then convinces Judd to do her a favour by writing a pseudonymous sex column where she could share her thoughts about the evils of men with the rest of New York. The column becomes a sweeping success and all of America seems to be wondering who this girl is. The rest kind of writes itself, with Judd continuing to hide her secret identity all the while prancing about in cotton undies with her roomie, crying a lot about her romantic misfortunes and eventually finding Mr. Right.

To be fair, Someone Like You is watchable and at times charming, garnering a few laughs at least. Still, whoever cast Judd in a comic role must be hitting themselves over the head right now, realizing that the actress is far too self-conscious to be the hysterical, sensitive and cute character she is meant to portray. Tomei could've done a better job with her hands tied behind her back.

Someone Like You opens Friday, March 30