Summer lovin': Male perspectives in cine romance

LOS ANGELES – During the summer, adventurous movies — comedic or contrarily — accept usually been aloof "he said, she said" counterprogramming to all the robots and superheroes announcement the box office. This season, what "he" said is accepting added awning time.

The focus in "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is on Matthew McConaughey as a amour columnist who is visited by the alcohol of his accomplished trysts — all the way aback to his aboriginal adulation (played by Jennifer Garner). It was new arena for McConaughey, who democratically tussled with Kate Hudson on awning in "Fool's Gold" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days."

"Usually in romantic comedies, the babe has the guy by the leash," said McConaughey. "This chance isn't a action of the sexes. It's not about me and Jennifer Garner activity aback and forth, aback and forth. Something I've strived for is to acquisition ball in not actuality the guy who thinks he has aggregate ample out, but actuality the guy who abstracts out he doesn't."

In "Management," Steve Zahn plays an accidental cabin administrator who avalanche so acutely for a traveling accumulated art bagman played by Jennifer Aniston that he follows her about the country afterwards their cast in the motel's laundry room. Zahn said he thinks "Management" is added like 1989's "Say Anything" than a archetypal avant-garde adventurous comedy.

"Most guys accept pretense, and we airing about cerebration we're John Travolta in 'Saturday Night Fever,'" said Zahn. "We're not. We're absolutely affectionate of idiots, but I acquainted this guy was attainable and accessible but additionally actual honest and real. He says absolutely what is on his apperception aback he says it. I'd never absolutely apprehend a appearance like that before."

Also demography an over-the-top attack at adulation is Dennis Cooverman (Paul Rust) in "I Adulation You, Beth Cooper." During his graduation speech, the banal valedictorian nervously professes his adulation for the best accepted babe in school, Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere). Abundant to his surprise, she shows up at his aperture afterwards than night for a crazy night out on the town.

"The axial abstruseness of this cine is, 'Who is this person, Beth Cooper?'" said Larry Doyle, who wrote the cine and 2007 book. "Dennis learns she isn't who he anticipation she was over the advance of the night. I could accept presented her as a complete being upfront, but again the book and the cine would've aloof been about a agrarian night afterwards graduation."

While the alarmist and cheerleader alone accept one night together, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has "500 Days of Summer." In the offbeat time-bending adventurous comedy, Gordon-Levitt plays a admiring greeting agenda biographer called Tom who has a awe-inspiring on-again, off-again accord with his boss' agnostic abettor Summer (Zooey Deschanel) over a year and a half.

"Most of what Hollywood presents as adulation is false," said Gordon-Levitt. "It's pandering to an audience. It basically tells the admirers what they appetite to apprehend instead of cogent them the truth. I'm appreciative of '500 Days of Summer' because I don't anticipate it does that. I anticipate it's an honest attending at what it is to be in adulation and abatement out of love."

Other adventurous highlights for summer 2009:

• "Love N' Dancing": Sparks fly and achievement agitate aback a affiliated abecedary who thinks she can ball (Amy Smart) accidentally finds adulation with her deafened dancing adviser (Tom Malloy) who has retired from amphitheater competition.

• "Easy Virtue": Jessica Biel goes beyond the pond in this 1920s-set ball about a blatant American gal who marries an Englishman (Ben Barnes) — abundant to the agitation of his airless British parents (Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth).

• "The Brothers Bloom": Con-artist ancestors (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) attack to blackmail a antisocial almsman (Rachel Weisz), but one of the brothers avalanche for the aberrant woman during their around-the-world adventure.

• "The Proposal": Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds accord new acceptation to the appellation "workplace romance" with Bullock as a adamant Canadian-born bang-up who plots to ally her American abettor (Reynolds) in adjustment to break in the United States. — "My Life in Ruins": "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" biographer and brilliant Nia Vardalos allotment to her Greek roots as a disenchanted bout adviser aggravating to get aback her mojo — or "kefi," as the Greeks alarm it — in the cradle of civilization.

• "Cheri": Michelle Pfeiffer plays a actual altered blazon of Catwoman in administrator Stephen Frears' arch 1920s account about a retired Parisian coquette who has an activity with her friend's 19-year-old son (Rupert Friend). Oh la la.

• "I Hate Valentine's Day": Nia Vardalos reunites with her "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" co-star John Corbett as a commitment-phobic, Valentine's Day-hating tapas restaurant buyer who is pursued by Corbett's airy florist.

• "The Ugly Truth": Katherine Heigl plays a romantically challenged morning appearance ambassador who cautiously agrees to chase the adulation admonition of a antipathetic shock amateur (Gerard Butler) who was assassin to addition her show's billowing ratings.

• "Adam": Adulation is complicated in this Sundance analysis accounting and directed by Max Mayer about a abecedary (Rose Byrne from FX's "Damages") who forms an affectionate affiliation with Adam, her autistic acquaintance (Hugh Dancy).

• "The Time Traveler's Wife": In this adjustment of Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 acknowledged novel, Rachel McAdams plays the appellation character: an artisan whose bedmate (Eric Bana) has a abiogenetic ataxia that causes him to jump about time.

• "Post Grad": Alexis Bledel graduates from "Gilmore Girls" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" in this complete ball about a alum who moves aback home with her ancestors while aggravating to acquisition a job and the man of her dreams.

• "When in Rome": A contemptuous New Yorker (Kristen Bell) jets to Rome for her sister's bells and is pursued by seven suitors afterwards plucking change out of a bubbler that allegedly ensures alliance to anyone who throws bill into it.