And I sure could relate to it. In grammar school, the boy who sat in front of me took joy in dishing out verbal abuse. He liked to snap me with rubber bands. Other times, the psycho would flick the pen off my desk, drawing the attention of a nun who would sneak up behind me and yank my pigtails for leaving my seat to retrieve it.

When I went home and complained to my mother about this stupid kid, she told me, “He’s only treating you that way because he likes you.”

And that’s the premise of He’s Just Not That Into You: Countless women have learned to mistake abuse (or indifference) for love after some well-meaning individual announced, “He’s only treating you that way because he likes you.”

The movie is crammed with appealing stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Connolly, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connolly, Bradley Cooper, and Ginnifer Goodwin. I thoroughly enjoyed their characters’ stories. Ginnifer Goodwin is the girl who thinks every guy who isn’t calling has to be crazy about her. Jennifer Connolly plays a woman who gave her husband an ultimatum to get married, only to find out after the wedding that he’s not all that committed. Kevin Connolly’s wild about a woman who’s giving him mixed signals. Jennifer Aniston’s character lives with a guy who loves her but refuses to get married.

He’s Just Not That Into You is great fun, in addition to offering solid advice about love and relationships. It tells the truth. The truth will set us all free.