# How Do You Know
**How Do You Know** is a 2010 American romantic comedy written and directed by [James L. Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-l-brooks), starring [Reese Witherspoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/reese-witherspoon), Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and [Jack Nicholson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-nicholson). The film follows Lisa Jorgenson, a 31-year-old professional softball player cut from the USA national team, who becomes caught in a love triangle between a professional baseball pitcher and a businessman facing a federal investigation.[1](https://www.lionsgateawards.com/assets/files/AYTGIMM%20_Production_Notes.pdf) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know) Released by Sony Pictures on December 17, 2010, it earned about $48.7 million worldwide against a $120 million production budget and drew largely negative reviews.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | James L. Brooks, his first film since *Spanglish* (2004)[1](https://www.lionsgateawards.com/assets/files/AYTGIMM%20_Production_Notes.pdf) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-17-la-et-how-do-you-know-20101217-story.html) |
| Cast | Reese Witherspoon (Lisa), Owen Wilson (Matty), Paul Rudd (George), Jack Nicholson (Charles), Kathryn Hahn (Annie)[5](https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/howdoyouknow/) |
| Release | December 17, 2010 (wide, Sony Pictures); home video March 22, 2011[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29) |
| Budget and gross | $120,000,000 production budget; $30,212,620 domestic; $48,668,907 worldwide[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) |
| Opening weekend | $7,484,696 in 2,483 theaters[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) |
| Critical scores | 32% Tomatometer (149 reviews); 25% Popcornmeter (25,000+ ratings)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know) |
| Rating and length | PG-13 for sexual content and some strong language; 121 minutes[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Lisa Jorgenson has spent her life playing softball, but at 31 she is deemed too old and is cut from the national team. Adrift without her sport, she begins a casual relationship with Matty, a charming, womanizing professional baseball pitcher with a multimillion-dollar contract. Around the same time she goes on a blind date with George, an earnest businessman who runs a company founded by his father, Charles, and who has become the subject of a federal investigation into financial wrongdoing. Caught between the two men, Lisa evaluates her life and what she wants from love.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know) • [7](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/reese-witherspoon-romantic-comedy/story?id=12334650) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-do-you-know-2010)
The title refers to knowing when you are in love.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-17-la-et-how-do-you-know-20101217-story.html) The corporate investigation subplot echoes the [Bernie Madoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernie-madoff) scandal, which some critics found strained.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/how-do-you-know)
## Production and casting
James L. Brooks, a three-time Academy Award winner whose earlier films include *Terms of Endearment*, *Broadcast News*, and *As Good As It Gets*, wrote and directed the film, produced through his company [Gracie Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/gracie-films).[1](https://www.lionsgateawards.com/assets/files/AYTGIMM%20_Production_Notes.pdf) Witherspoon said at the press launch that she was not naturally athletic and trained with coaches for four months, three hours a day, for the role, adding that she was "still not any good at softball".[7](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/reese-witherspoon-romantic-comedy/story?id=12334650) She described the character's world as one with a built-in expiration date, since a female athlete's career ends by her early thirties.[7](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/reese-witherspoon-romantic-comedy/story?id=12334650)
The ending went through revisions. Brooks shot a version in which the characters explained their feelings several times, then settled on a final scene built around what the characters did not say.[10](https://screenagewasteland.com/a-film-of-its-times-how-do-you-know/)
## Box office
The film opened on December 17, 2010 in 2,483 theaters and grossed $7,484,696 on its opening weekend, 24.8 percent of its eventual domestic total.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) • [6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29) It finished with $30,212,620 domestically and $48,668,907 worldwide, against a production budget of $120,000,000, so the worldwide gross was roughly 0.4 times the budget.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) • [6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29) The Numbers lists a slightly higher worldwide figure of $49,628,177.[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29) Estimated domestic physical disc sales added $11,414,962, of which $10,678,700 came from DVD.[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29)
## Reception
Critical response was negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 32% Tomatometer from 149 reviews and a 25% Popcornmeter from more than 25,000 audience ratings; the site's critics consensus says the four likeable leads "deserve better than this glib, overlong misfire".[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know) Reviewers repeatedly faulted the running time and structure: Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "doesn't work out as it should", finding George less involving once he fixates on Lisa and the Nicholson father-son material as if from "a somewhat different, considerably stranger movie".[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-17-la-et-how-do-you-know-20101217-story.html) Roger Ebert gave the film two stars, writing that "I expected this movie to better" and that the characters were limited to sitcom problems.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-do-you-know-2010) Brian Tallerico called it "a mess" with stilted dialogue and not enough plot to carry nearly two hours.[11](https://hollywoodchicago.com/news/13862/dvd-review-great-james-l-brooks-misfires-with-how-do-you-know) Brian Eggert of Deep Focus Review judged it a serviceable, low-key comedy with few flourishes to last in memory, weighed down by excess subplots.[12](https://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/how-do-you-know/)
Some later assessments have been warmer. A 2025 review on Rotten Tomatoes argued that fifteen years on, the film is "far more charming and thoughtful than its early reputation suggests".[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know)
## Place in Brooks's career
*How Do You Know* was Brooks's sixth feature as director and his first since *Spanglish* in 2004; he has not directed a theatrical feature since.[1](https://www.lionsgateawards.com/assets/files/AYTGIMM%20_Production_Notes.pdf) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-17-la-et-how-do-you-know-20101217-story.html) Its commercial failure, with a worldwide gross of well under half its $120 million budget, made it one of the notable box-office disappointments of 2010.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/) • [11](https://hollywoodchicago.com/news/13862/dvd-review-great-james-l-brooks-misfires-with-how-do-you-know) The film also stands out for centering a professional female athlete, a subject ABC News noted is rarely the focus of American movies.[7](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/reese-witherspoon-romantic-comedy/story?id=12334650)
## References
1. [James L. Brooks, P.G.A. – Producer, Production Notes](https://www.lionsgateawards.com/assets/files/AYTGIMM%20_Production_Notes.pdf)
2. [How Do You Know, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_do_you_know)
3. [How Do You Know, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl341673473/)
4. [Movie review: 'How Do You Know', Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan, Dec. 17, 2010)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-17-la-et-how-do-you-know-20101217-story.html)
5. [How Do You Know, Plugged In](https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/howdoyouknow/)
6. [How Do You Know? (2010), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/How-Do-You-Know-%282010%29)
7. ['How Do You Know' Not Typical Romantic Comedy, ABC News (Dec. 7, 2010)](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/reese-witherspoon-romantic-comedy/story?id=12334650)
8. [How Do You Know, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-do-you-know-2010)
9. [Parents' Guide to How Do You Know, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/how-do-you-know)
10. [A Film of Its Times: 'How Do You Know', ScreenAge Wasteland](https://screenagewasteland.com/a-film-of-its-times-how-do-you-know/)
11. [DVD Review: Great James L. Brooks Misfires With How Do You Know, HollywoodChicago.com](https://hollywoodchicago.com/news/13862/dvd-review-great-james-l-brooks-misfires-with-how-do-you-know)
12. [How Do You Know (2010), Deep Focus Review](https://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/how-do-you-know/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license