Life as We Know It is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Greg Berlanti, starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel.
Holly Berenson (Heigl) is the owner of a small Atlanta bakery, and Eric Messer (Duhamel) is a promising television technical sports director for the Atlanta Hawks. After a disastrous blind date, Eric and Holly would be glad to never see each other again. But their friends — the ones who had set them up — die in a car crash, and had given them joint custody of their toddler, forcing them to put aside their differences to raise the child together, for which they'll have to improve themselves (and their relationship) in the process.
It was released on October 8, 2010.
This film features examples of:
- Betty and Veronica: Inverted gender. Holly abhors the impulsive, immature, sometimes vulgar Eric at first, but slowly warms to him. She also finds Sophie's pediatrician—a decent-looking nice guy—appealing as well. In the end, she chooses Eric.
- Big Fancy House: The house their best friends leave them is huge and quite gorgeous.
- Children Raise You: After a disastrous blind date, Eric and Holly would be glad to never see each other again. But their friends — the ones who had set them up — die in a car crash, and had given them joint custody of their toddler, forcing them to put aside their differences to raise the child together, improving themselves (and their relationship) in the process.
- Dead Star Walking: Christina Hendricks was a big enough game at the time of the film to assume she would be one of the main characters, but turns out to actually be one half of the couple whose death kickstarts the plot of the film.
- Department of Child Disservices: Played with and discussed. Eric and Holly's social worker turns out to be quite competent, but Messer thinks it was way too easy for him and Holly to get custody over Sophie in the first place.Judge Gorling: I hereby grant joint legal and physical custody of Sophie Christina Novak to Holly Berenson and Eric Messer.
Eric: That's it? You're not gonna ask us anything? How do you know we're not drug dealers or pimps?
Judge Gorling: Are you drug dealers or pimps?
Holly: No, ma'am! No.
[later, at home]
Eric: Done! Next case! "Here, take a kid. No, take two; we've got extra." - Eating the Eye Candy: Nearly all of Eric's new neighbors have a crush on him. They particularly like to watch him go running, as he does so in a sleeveless shirt and shorts.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eric, aka Messer, is definitely an immature jerk, but after he stops tormenting Holly and being selfish, he reveals he can be kind and patient and he grows to love Sophie. He's also laidback enough to notice times when Holly is overthinking something and he can come up with a simpler solution that actually works.
- Lady Killer In Love: Eric is extremely handsome and is revealed to be an expert pickup artist. However, he slowly starts to fall for Holly over the course of living together and raising Sophie.
- Manchild: Messer, indicated by that nickname. He is irresponsible, impatient, somewhat of a lady killer, and is completely uninterested (at first) in helping Holly to raise Sophie.
- Mr. Fanservice: Not too egregious, but the film doesn't ever forget that Josh Duhamel is gorgeous. There is a hilarious gag that whenever he goes running in their new neighborhood, dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, the neighbors make up excuses to say hi or even try to tag along just so they can ogle him.
- Nice Guy: The pediatrician that Holly has a crush on at first. He is patient, polite, and is always willing to hear her out when she worries about Sophie.
- Parenting the Husband: Eric and Holly aren't married, but they must take care of a kid together that has them having to effectively work as a couple, and Holly ends up having to take care of Eric as much of she takes care of Sophie, the baby.
- Romantic False Lead: Holly gravitates towards the cute, kind-hearted pediatrician for Sophie at first, but as she spends more time with Eric, she slowly starts to like him.
- Rom Com Job: Holly is the owner of a small Atlanta bakery, ideal for rom com shenanigans.
- Averted with Eric. He ends up trapped when he's offered a big chance to advance his career, but it's on a night when he has to watch Sophie, the babysitter isn't available, and neither is Holly, so he takes Sophie with him. Naturally, it doesn't work out and causes a huge rift between Eric and Holly.
- Toilet Humor: Well, it's a movie about raising a baby. It's inevitable. The truly terrible part is Holly gets some of Sophie's poop on her face at one point, which is one of the grossest baby-related examples in film to date.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Holly is an uptight bakery owner, and Eric is a free-wheeling player. Naturally, they fall themselves falling for each other.
- Who Will Take The Kids?: What kickstarts the plot is Holly and Eric's friends Peter and Alison being killed in a car crash, and Holly and Eric learning that their friends named them Sophie's joint guardians, which they accept after finding that none of Peter and Alison's relatives are fit to take care of Sophie.
