All About Steve is a movie I never had any desire to see. Every film that I have written a review about up to this point have been things I wanted to see to some degree. Some more than others but there was always an interest to see them. While I was at the library picking up some movies to watch, I found All About Steve and decided “sure why not.” I am sure everybody does that from time to time. Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised.

All About Steve came out in 2009 and stars Sandra Bullock who was hot off of The Proposal which was a big hit and came out earlier that year. All About Steve bombed earning 33 million in the U.S. and making 40 million total worldwide. The film also stars Bradley Cooper who was in The Hangover which also came out earlier that year and was a huge hit. Thomas Haden Church and Ken Jeong are also in the movie. Ken Jeong was a breakout star in The Hangover. Thomas Haden Church was an Oscar Nominee, nominated for his role in the film Sideways that came a few years before this movie. This was also before The Blind Side came out, where Sandra Bullock would become an Oscar winner at the 2010 Academy Awards.

After watching All About Steve I could understand why the movie did not do well. Sandra Bullock is not new to comedies. A fair amount of her hit movies have been in that genre between Two Weeks Notice, Miss Congeniality, and The Proposal. Even more recently she had a hit movie with The Lost City that also starred Channing Tatum and came out in 2022. Bradley Cooper has found success since The Hangover, going on to be an Oscar Nominee several times including A Star is Born that came out in 2019. He is also known for being the voice of Rocket Raccoon in Marvel for the Guardians of the Galaxy films. On paper with the cast it has, this movie should have been successful. I think the movie was a turnoff for a lot of fans of Sandra Bullock or the genre in general.

I did not love All About Steve but I also did not hate it. I thought it was an okay film. I think what carried the movie was Bradley Cooper. I am a fan of Sandra Bullock but I found her character Mary Horowitz very off putting. I think that is a huge reason why the film did not do well. I think that was the intention with the character and I thought Sandra Bullock did a good job in the role. There were times where some of Mary’s actions were a bit cringe worthy. I could relate better to Bradley Cooper’s character Steve. I felt bad for him throughout the movie. As the film headed into the final act of the movie, I found Mary a little less irritating. I also did find the ending of the film refreshing for this type of movie. It did not go the typical route that a lot of films do. I also was a little surprised to learn that Sandra Bullock was a producer on this movie. I am not sure how involved she was from that aspect. I might have enjoyed the movie a little more if it focused on Steve more. I know the plot of the movie is about Mary who is obsessed with Steve after being set up on a blind date with him and she is the main focus of the film. I would have liked to have seen more of Steve and I wouldn’t have minded if more focus was on him.

All About Steve is an alright movie. I did not think it was as awful as some people make it out to be. Toward the end, I did get invested in how things would play out. I definitely give the movie props for having a refreshing ending. The cast does a good job as their characters, and I give props to Sandra Bullock for what she did with her character.