Reese's character was really...

It wasn't even a likable bitch, like the one she played in Sweet Home Alabama. You know, the kind that always seems reformable. This one was just bitch, and that's it.

I don't think the characters were "too complicated" for me to understand. Movies with 1D characters tend to be almost as boring and lacking as this one, but at least they're usually funny in an ironic way.

I agree, she was a pushover. Still a bitch, but also a pushover.

As much as I like RW, I think her being cast for this part is what probably ruined the movie. I don't think she really knew how to play the strong, logical, independent woman, who is in a very vulnerable and unfamiliar place. She just seemed like an self-centered idiot, who let others walk all over her.
I must say, the male choices the character was given were also pretty shizzy; a smitten, bankrupt wack-o, who was likely going to jail, and a conceited man-whore who defined love as "using a condom when you're with other girls".

Well, I watched this movie with another Reese Witherspoon fan and we BOTH agreed that this character was either poorly written or badly acted.

Not only was she bitchy, but shallow and flaky as well. I've seen plenty of characters more complicated than this that were still likeable and hinted at a deeper, more admirable character. We sat and watched this movie waiting for some character development only to be left scratching our heads at what either of these men would see in her. True bitches often know how to stroke a guy's ego. She didn't even do that. She just seemed like a bitter, nasty flake with no real personality to speak of. In fact, I kept waiting for Paul Rudd's character to dump this witch and end up with his pregnant friend. Now THAT would have made sense. Owen Wilson's character seemed likeable next to Witherspoon's. Honestly she wasn't even a bitch, just shallow and annoying.

i'm grateful for some of the recent posts, as i was beginning to think i was the only one who appreciated this movie. i thought all involved were great, especially pr and rw.

about pr, i work in the financial services industry and it's true, you're damned if you do (know), damned if you don't. just because he's facing indictment doesn't mean he's bad as someone else seemed to suggest. in fact he comes off as a genuine person being taken advantage of (in that regard his dad, jn, was right).

rw as mentioned is trying to rediscover herself. her behavior with ow is more typical than atypical i think, as he and others have taken her for granted. in fact some of her bitchiness is unresolved anger at that realization and her predicament.

so when pr and rw meet, he's drawn to her self-help optimism and accessibility and she to his appreciation for her not as a star athlete but as a person. in fact they both are in desperate need for support and validation and find it in each other.

interestingly, both also are honest and that's part of the appeal. in fact, there are few characters in this film who aren't candid and while not entirely realistic is part of the allure.

bottom line the characters and situations felt real to me. oh and i liked the ending and here, too, thought it genuine. (spoiler alert) it wasn't a typical hollywood ending where everything is neatly wrapped up but nearly so. rw is still confused about who she is and what she wants but clearly is on the cusp of that realization with pr's help. it's sweet, imo.

Thanks for saving me the time of trying to explain why Lisa acted the way she did. I couldn't have said it any better.

Sometimes a film turns out to be different from what we were expecting. In this case I thought it was much better.

I felt Rudd and Witherspoons characters were both equally likeable. They both snapped at times, but often apologized. And the overwhelming changes both characters were going through would mitigate such behavior anyway. I would agree that the turn around for Lisa to realize she liked George was quick, but he was really the only one listening to her. I enjoyed it a lot, sorry if some of you didn't. ALL art is subjective, with no right or wrongs.