Richard Roeper

Laurie Viera

The Ultimate Film Guide to the Best Women's Films and Guy Movies

He Rents, She Rents

Sarah Sammis

He Rents, She Rents (1999) now is an out of date book of movie recommendations based on the likes and dislikes of stereotypical man vs. stereotypical woman. You can guess how this goes: men like adventure, scifi, war, sports. Women like: comedy, romance, drama. By the very concept of the book I'm already put off. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I adore most of the genres that are stereotypically male (sports films can go away and die right now, please). Force me to watch most romances (unless it's a screwball comedy) and I will be begging for mercy.

The two authors are Richard Roeper before he teamed up with Roger Ebert (and became a better movie reviewer) and Laurie Viera (Rigler) before she wrote Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict. The Jane Austen connection is another mark against Viera's choices. I'm not an Austen addict or even a fan. Overall I preferred Roeper's choices. He tended to stick with classics and things that any well versed film lover should see. Unfortunately at the time he wrote this book he was a terrible writer (or maybe his editor forced him to write like a cheap Tim Allen knock-off).

What the book suffers from most is hasty writing. There are no good or interesting reasons given for any of the films included in the book. The shtick of boys vs. girls was the only thing carrying this book an that just isn't enough to make a good book.

He Rents, She Rents The Ultimate Film Guide to the Best Women's Films and Guy Movies

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