I Don't Know How She Does It is a 2011 film directed by Douglas Mc Grath, starring Sarah Jessica Parker as a working mother who is trying to maintain her career, her family and her marriage to Richard (Greg Kinnear). She tries to be there for family, trying to impress her boss (Pierce Brosnan).
The film also stars Busy Phillips, Olivia Munn, Seth Meyers, and Kelsey Grammer.
It was released on September 16, 2011.
Tropes for the film:
- Embarrassing Ringtone: Kate's cell phone ringtone plays "Farmer in the Dell"; she later explains that she took her son's toy phone by accident.
- Family Versus Career: Kate's main conflict in the movie, as she is trying to get noticed at work and is trying to be there for her young children.
- Film of the Book: Based on the novel of the same name by Allison Pearson.
- High-Powered Career Woman: The film explores the lives of four women who are different depictions of this trope.
- Kate is a White Collar Worker of some sort, who struggles to manage Family Versus Career and is shown to be overworked and exhausted, falling asleep after trying to initiate sex with her husband. She is shown to be one of only a few woman in her office and has to contend with casual sexism from her colleagues as she strives for their recognition. By the end of the film however, she chooses family and takes on less work in the office.
- She is contrasted by Momo, a junior research analyst in the office. Momo is beautiful, highly ambitious, and disapproving of Kate's lifestyle because Kate doesn't focus on her career more. This becomes a dilemma for Momo when she later realizes she is pregnant and has to figure out whether or not she wants to put aside her ambitions for the child she's now carrying.
