Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Determined to learn about her boyfriend's past relationships, Stacy -- who works for a talk show -- becomes a bona fide snoop. With her colleague, Barb, Stacy gets the names of Derek's ex-lovers and interviews them, supposedly for an upcoming show. But what she learns only adds to her confusion, and her plans begin to unravel when she befriends one of the women.
Little Black Book is a middling romantic comedy that blends a talk-show backdrop with a snooping-girlfriend premise, but never quite commits to being a sharp satire or a satisfying romance. The plot is predictable and the betrayal/sabotage elements feel contrived. Acting is serviceable — Brittany Murphy brings energy and Kathy Bates adds gravitas — but the material limits them. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable. The Carly Simon integration is a notable stylistic choice but doesn't elevate the film's overall distinctiveness enough to register as truly novel. The ending leans into a bittersweet twist that feels both abrupt and tonally inconsistent with the rom-com packaging, leaving audiences unsatisfied rather than pleasantly surprised.