Reese Witherspoon’s ‘How Do You Know’ Receives Surprise Netflix Resurgence

How Do You Know, a 2010 film that stars Reese Witherspoon, was not a success when it was released. However, it has become a big hit on Netflix as it ranks No. 4 among the most-watch movies on a streaming service behind Fatal Affair, The Old Guard, and The Lorax. How Do You Know is about a softball player (Witherspoon) who has to choose between a baseball player or a young executive when it comes to a romantic relationship. The baseball player is played by Owen Wilson, and the executive is played by Paul Rudd.

Along with the main plot, another story emerges when Rudd’s father, played by Jack Nicholson, gets the company he works for in legal trouble but wants his son to take the heat. How Do You Know only made $48.7 million worldwide and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 32 percent rating. “If this movie is about one question, it’s ‘How do you know when you’re really in love?’” Witherspoon said to Female.com at the time of the release. How Do You Know is directed and written by James L. Brooks, and he elaborated on how moviegoers can relate to the film.

“We all have, at some point, a feeling that everything we’ve depended on we can’t depend on anymore. And when that happens, the only thing we have left is love,” Brooks said. He also noted, “love is our saving grace.” But the question is why How Do You Know is finding success on Netflix when it didn’t in theatres. Scott Mendelson of Forbes believes the face How Do You Know is a romantic comedy helps since the genre does well on Netflix.

“I’d argue that Netflix gets the most value for their rom-coms,” Mendelson wrote. “I don’t know what Set It Up, To All the Boys I’ve Loved, Always Be My Maybe, The Kissing Booth, Desperados or The Wrong Missy cost, but they have both performed very well in terms of overall viewership.” Despite the lack of success at the box offices, Witherspoon and the rest of the cast continued to find success in Hollywood over the last decade. Witherspoon went on to star in the 2014 film Wild and earn her second Academy Award nomination. Recently she moved to the TV side, starring on Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere.