What Do The Critics Say?

"The national anthem of working mothers may look a little dated now. We know a lot more now than in 2002, when the book came out, about women's attempt to cover all the options. Still Douglas McGrath's film is exuberant and just about sincere enough to cover that fact and strike a chord with zillions of working mothers. Parker contributes a performance as the flustered but determined Kate Reddy that proves that she can transcend Sex and The City." Derek Malcolm THIS IS LONDON "If you enjoyed Sex and the City, you'll like this funny, sassy and fast-paced melting pot of domestic and business chaos, where the key to juggling is throwing, not catching. But what goes up does come down and we are there for every minute of the angst and heartache, joys and laughter as Sarah Jessica Parker's super-mum and business dynamo Kate Reddy works out her priorities. Based on Allison Pearson's 2002 best-selling novel, scriptwriter Aline Brosh McKenna has penned a light-hearted yet keenly observed scenario." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "Sarah Jessica Parker returns to New York for this comedy-drama about a career woman juggling responsibilities to her boss and her family. "I Don’t Know How She Does It" is everything you expect: marital strife, winsome kids, zinging one-liners and cloying sentiment. Naturally, Parker is impeccably dressed as her character deals with each familial crisis." Catherine Jones LIVERPOOL ECHO "Despite dredging up dramedy from dashing between say, Euro power lunches and racing home to defrost the caviar, the movie does manage to stay afloat, owing to that SJP charm and the collaborative stinging wit of screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and Allison Pearson, the writer of the adapted 2002 chick lit bestseller." Prairie Miller NEWSBLAZE

"A working mother tries to juggle job and family without short-changing husband, boss or her partner on a major project at the office, and you know what? It’s really, really hard! This banal insight is all Aline Brosh McKenna’s script has to say, and the movie’s arc is thuddingly predictable. What saves things from becoming entirely dreary is its cast." Jim Lane SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW "This film takes the most wrenching and universal dilemma of family life and turns it into a sitcom-y love letter to Sarah Jessica Parker. Up all night making lists that never end, Kate promises everything to everyone and discovers that sometimes jugglers drop all the balls at once. Parents should know this film has some strong language, many references to marital sex and absence thereof (some crude) and to adultery, drinking, mostly comic peril and violence, and a reference to abortion as an option for an unplanned pregnancy." Nell Minow BELIEF NET "Likeable, relatable chick flick fluff about professional woman Kate Reddy and the industry involved in balancing the upward trajectory of her career with her demands of her family. With loving husband Richard at home and attractive businessman Jack making constant demands on her time, Kate's string of dilemmas offer up more food for thought than usual." Jim Schembri THE AGE "This is very much Kate's story, and much to their credit the filmmakers refuse to judge any of her choices. They do wrap things up with superficial ease, but they also find plenty of humor and poignancy in parenthood. At the same time, they never shy away from the worry, guilt and criticisms so many working mothers experience. More watchable than its awful trailer indicates." Elizabeth Weitzman NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The Inside Story Based on Allison Pearson’s critically acclaimed bestseller of the same title, "I Don't Know How She Does It", is a comedy for any working mother: or, for that matter, working father; whose life depends on the to-do list. The 2002 debut novel of Welsh-born journalist Allison Pearson, "I Don’t Know How She Does It" is a diary-like account of the long days and sleep-deprived nights of a London wife, mother and investment manager named Kate. Written in a wry, self-aware and disarmingly honest first-person voice, Pearson’s book pulled back the curtain on the juggling act known as "having it all" and struck an immediate chord with readers when it was published in the U.S. by Alfred A Knopf. It spent tweny three weeks on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list, and to date has sold nearly four million copies worldwide. Oprah Winfrey dubbed it "the national anthem of working mothers", and it was as well-received critically as it was commercially. "Here, at last, is the definitive social comedy of working motherhood," wrote the late Marjorie Williams of The Washington Post, who passed away on January 16th 2005 at the age of fourty seven. Novelist Claire Dederer (Poser My Life In Twent Three Yoga Poses") said in her review for Amazon.com, "Kate is wildly appealing, and we want things to work out for her. In the end, the book isn't a just collection of clever lines on the theme of working motherhood; it's a real, rich novel about a character we come to cherish." While certain particulars of Kate Reddy’s daily existence were inherently female, her story spoke to both genders. In fact, "I Don’t Know How She Does It" developed such a wide readership among men, a design change for the cover was eventually deemed in order. "Initially," Pearson ("I Think I Love You") recalls, "men were very reluctant to read the book, mainly because it had a very bright pink cover. Eventually the publisher brought out a version in blue so men didn’t have to hide the book behind their newspapers or magazines in shame on the train." The team of filmmakers behind the production, felt Kate’s story would be as welcome and refreshing onscreen as on the page. 1999 Oscar® winning producer Donna Gigliotti ("Shakespeare in Love") points to the continuing relevance of the source material. "If anything, life for the Kate Reddy’s of the world has only gotten more complicated. To me, Allison’s novel is in the classic tradition of the social comedy: a story about the way we live now. I wanted to see these situations, and these characters, onscreen." Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (2004's "Laws of Attraction"), was already a fan of the novel when she was approached to write the screen adaptation. The story’s setting was changed to Boston from London, but the essential framework of the novel remained the same. She revealed the book "was a real favorite of mine, so when I got the opportunity to adapt it I jumped at the chance. In my mind, "I Don’t Know How She Does It" is the definitive depiction of the highs and the lows of trying to be a parent and also maintain a career. It was written in such a specific, funny voice. One of the reasons that there is voice-over in the movie was because I wanted to make sure that we preserved as much as possible of Allison’s distinctive, hilarious take on what it really feels like to be torn in a million directions at the same time." Allison Pearson, who served as a co-producer on the film, found McKenna’s take on the story and its themes to be entirely compatible with her own. "Seeing Aline’s insight into the book, I felt really in very good hands. She has a very similar comic sensibility, and it was interesting seeing someone else’s imagination take on the material." McKenna showed the completed screenplay to director Douglas McGrath, a friend who has written the screenplays for all his films, beginning with his acclaimed 1996 debut adaptation of Jane Austin's, "Emma", starring Gwyneth Paltrow, James Cosmo and Greta Scacchi. "I was completely captivated. I’ve never directed a script before that wasn’t mine, but there’s something really wonderful about Allison’s novel and Aline’s script that makes you connect directly to the working parents in the story. I had never seen a script that so completely captured what working parents have to deal with in the charming, funny, and also touching way that Aline’s script did." McKenna ("27 Dresses") recalls: "I was thrilled. Doug was the ideal person to bring the book to life. There’s a kind of sparkle that Doug brings to a movie, which was perfect for "I Don’t Know How She Does It" because he could capture everything that Kate’s dealing with: the stresses, the juggling; but also give the viewer the fun and excitement of smart people saying funny things. Smart people saying funny things: that’s Doug McGrath’s world." The film reunited McGrath with Gigliotti and Harvey and Bob Weinstein, all of whom were executive producers of "Emma", a production at the Weinsteins’ previous company, Miramax. For Gigliotti ("The Reader") the film would mark her very first production in her new post as President of Production at The Weinstein Company. "Harvey, Bob and I were thrilled when Doug said he wanted to direct the film. We knew from "Emma" that Doug has a deft touch with comedies about relations between the sexes, and we also knew that he was an absolute joy to work with." The filmmakers were delighted when Sarah Jessica Parker signed on to play Kate Reddy. "Sarah Jessica is immediately sympathetic onscreen, and she makes comedy look easy, which of course it’s not," McGrath ("Infamous") notes. As a mother, Parker could draw on her own life experience in creating her character. "Sarah Jessica works hard as a mother, and she works hard as an actress, and she works hard in all her other activities. She understood everything that Kate goes through in the film and she could approach the character with respect, while playing the humor the various situations," Parker, 2002 winner of the Monte-Carlo TV Festival Golden Nymph Award notes. Four time Golden Globe winner (2000, '01, '02 & '04) Parker responded strongly to the film’s depiction of Kate’s circumstances and perspective. "I loved the screenplay: it was funny but also very honest about the complexities of wanting to have it all. I think the things that Kate wants for herself: to be a great mother; a loving, respectful and supportive spouse and, a success as a working person; are not uncommon. Kate’s at a point where her work is very intriguing and fulfilling for her. She has enormous guilt about leaving her family in order to pursue her career, but obviously the work plays a really important part in her life. The themes in the movie are very relatable, in a very natural way." 1997 NBR Award winner Greg Kinnear ("As Good As It Gets") plays Kate's architect husband, Richard, who's left a Boston firm to start his own company and is now in the running for a prominent design project. The 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award winner ("Little Miss Sunshine") revealed: "Richard’s running to the finish line as fast as he can while at the same time being a husband, and at the same time being a dad, and trying to balance things himself. I think the unspoken negotiation between Kate and Richard has been if he gets this opportunity for his architecture business, that she’s going to pick up the slack at home. But it doesn’t work out quite so smoothly." Kate's career break carries with it the requirement that she spend even more time away from home, in order to ensure her fund proposal developes into an air-tight presentation. And the stakes are raised, because she’s working side by side with a legendary figure in her company, Jack Abelhammer, played by two time Irish Film and Television Award winner Pierce Brosnan. Parker (Meredith Morton in "The Family Stone") notes: "Spending time with Jack is not hard: he’s elegant, he’s witty; he appreciates Kate’s professional talents. Of course, the fact that she’s enjoying herself only adds to her feelings of guilt about behind away from home!" The rapport that develops between them, catches self-possessed investment strategist Jack, off-guard. Brosnan (who teamed up with Greg Kinnear for the 2005 Richard Shepard film, "The Matador"), describes his character as "a workaholic, a widower and something of a loner. Jack has risen to the top of his profession, in a town that he knows inside out. He’s gone as far as he wants to go and his motto is, keep things simple and steady. Then into his life walks this wonderful woman, who he finds quite captivating." Kate is cheered on in her upward career trajectory by two key women in her life: her best friend and fellow working mother, Allison, played by 2009 Monte-Carlo TV Festival Golden Nymph winner Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men"); and her brilliant junior colleague Momo, played by Olivia Munn ("Iron Man 2"). An attorney with a sly sense of humor, Allison affectionately teases her Kate about her perfectionist tendencies, and is herself more of a pragmatist. "I don’t think Allison would be up at three in morning making dessert for a school bake sale," Hendricks ("Drive") says with a laugh. "Allison and Kate have different personalities, but the bottom line is that they’re great friends, they can be totally honest with one another and they make each other laugh." Not so, Momo,who has no intention of ever setting foot near a bake sale, much less contributing to one. Preternaturally efficient and entirely career-driven, she cannot begin to fathom Kate’s nonchalant acceptance of things like pancake batter on her lapel. "Momo is not a girl who has grown up dreaming of babies, husbands and picket fences," Munn notess, with considerable understatement. In preparation for the role, the actress cut her long hair into a sleek, simple bob. "Doug McGrath liked call to Momo 'aerodynamic' and it seemed to me that she would want her hair short, really easy and clean all the time. She doesn’t want anything to impede her forward momentum." McGrath ("Nicholas Nickleby") agrees. "Momo represents a certain point of view, which is: I don’t want children; I’ve seen what happened to you with children; Jesus, don’t let it happen to me." Mark Blum ("Crocodile Dundee") and two time Emmy Award winner Jane Curtin (TV'S "Kate & Allie"), were cast as Kates in-laws, Lew and Marla Reddy. Curtin, who played in Dr Mary Albright in TV'S "3rd Rock from the Sun" observes: "When Marla and Lew were raising a family, it was tried-and-true that the wife stayed home and took care of the kids, and the husband went off and made the money. So they have a specific idea of the way things should be done, but they’re not overtly judgmental. They’re sort of quietly judgmental." Five time Emmy Award winner, Kelsey Grammer, was cast as cast as Kate's boss Clark Cooper, who he describes as "is imposing, certainly, because he’s quite good at his job and has an excellent reputation. He believes in showing women good manners, and he’s definitely not comfortable discussing, shall we say, personal matters with his female employees. But he’s a good boss, and a fair one." What's It All About?

Meet Kate: wife, mother, career woman and juggler par excellence. Life's hectic but good. She’s got a great husband, Richard, an architect who has recently struck out on his own. She’s got two adorable children, Emily, who’s turning six, and Ben, a toddler who worships the ground she walks on. She’s got a job she loves, as an investment manager at the Boston satellite of a New York based financial firm. Kate travels frequently for work, but also manages to be as involved in her daughter’s school and after-school activities as any stay at home mom. Colleagues, acquaintances and relatives invariably all say the same thing when remarking on Kate’s ability to keep the different areas of her existence running so smoothly: "I don’t know how you do it." Somehow she does: until a demanding new project, which requires dropping everything at a minutes notice; puts more pressure on her families life.

The Verdict "I don't know how she does it, but she certainly does. Yes, the former star of the hit TV series "Sex and the City", Sarah Jessica Parker (who turned down the role of Vivian in "Pretty Woman") bounces back from the disaster of 2010's "Sex and the City 2", in this entertaining adaptation of Allison Pearson's 2002 best seller, "I Don't Know How She Does It": a film not only women will find funny, but men too! Oscar® nominated scriptwriter Aline Brosh McKenna ("The Devil Wears Prada"), has penned a bright, breezy and very funny storyline, which never falters, and should keep audinences (and Parker fans) entertained throughout its short running time of eighty nine minutes. While the main focus of the film is on Parker's character Kate, there's strong support from those who play the male roles: Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan and Seth Meyers. While former small screen stars Kelsey Grammer ("Cheers") and James Curtin ("Saturday Night Live") only play minor roles in the film, older cinemagoers will get a kick out of watching them perform. For those who haven't read the book, it is available in a film tie-in version which features the film's poster art work on the cover. Directed by Doug McGrath, whose debut film "Emma" picked up the Oscar for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score (Rachel Portman), "I Don't Know How She Does It" should provide welcome relief for those cinemagoers who are looking for a good laugh. Recommended. 3 1/2 STARS." Who Is Playing Who?

Sarah Jessica Parker Greg Kinnear Jane Curtin Emma Rayne Lyle Julius Goldberg Theodore Goldberg Pierce Brosnan Christina Hendricks Kelsey Grammer Seth Meyers Olivia Munn Mark Blum Busy Philipps Sarah Shahi Jessica Szohr James Murtaugh

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Kate Richard Marla Emily Ben Ben Jack Allison Clark Cooper Chris Bunce Momo Hahn Lew Reddy Wendy Best Janine LoPietro Paula Roger Harcourt

The Production Team Directed by Doug McGrath Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna From the novel by Allison Pearson Produced by Donna Gigliotti Original Music by Aaron Zigman Director of Photography Stuart Dryburgh Film Editing by Kevin Tent & Camilla Toniolo Casting by Douglas Aibel Production Design by Santo Loquasto Art Direction by Doug Huszti Set Decoration by Regina Graves & Matt Perry Thomas Costume Design by Renee Ehrlich Kalfus Run Time 89 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2011 - The Weinstein Company - All Rights Reserved Enduring © - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian & International Copyright, Trademark Laws & Intellectual Property Rights.