3. Clark Cooper - I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)
Weinstein CompanyLike
Aaron Eckhart before him, Grammer isn't immune from appearing in bad romantic comedies, or at least comedies with a romantic element. Two years after Eckhart found himself in the tepid and tedious Love Happens, Grammer turned up in a supporting role in the equally dull and unrealistic I Don't Know How She Does It. While not the worst film he's ever made (we're coming to that), it is a very good example of how actors can made a bad film worse, by making the very least of the material that is put before them. Directed by Douglas McGrath (who also made the underrated Infamous), I Don't Know How She Does It is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Allison Pearson. It follows working mother Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker) as she struggles to balance the demands of her work, her husband (Greg Kinnear) and her children. Things only get more complicated when she takes a position away from her family, working for
Pierce Brosnan's Jack Abelhammer. While it's nothing like as bad as the Sex and the City films, I Don't Know How She Does It is a limp, patronising and unconvincing comedy. While McGrath directs with the best intentions, he fails to relate the plight of the protagonists to those of us who don't enjoy such upmarket, wealthy lifestyles. Grammer isn't in the film for very long, but he doesn't help proceedings by phoning in a caricaturish employer. He has no chemistry with Parker and doesn't bring anything interesting to the table. Considering that he won a Golden Globe for the TV series Boss around the same time, it's curious that he could be so boring in a similar role.