Hidden potential of not-so-great chick lit

I like the chick lit. I admit it. And I'm not necessarily picky about it. So when I was meandering around the library the other day and saw a book called Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, I picked it up. Set in Ireland. A woman goes through her ex-boyfriends to figure out what she's doing wrong. Sounds promising. Like a lot of others, the writing and story were entertaining enough to propel me quickly through the book. And, like a lot of others, after I finish it, I find myself thinking "Meh."

For one thing, the story is just insanely over-the-top. The main character, Amelia, is taking a class because she wants to get married, and each week she's supposed to contact a former boyfriend and find out why he thinks they broke up--get his perspective. Logical. However, two problems. One, there were a lot of flashbacks. A bunch of these flashed back to the 80s. And the author couldn't help but throw in things like people commenting about how perfect Charles and Diana are for each other, or how Elton John couldn't be gay--he's married! Oh, ha ha! It's funny because it's not true! *bangs head on desk*

The other main problem is the craziness of the ex-boyfriends. (SPOILERS AHEAD!) We meet 10 of them, and the most normal of them is the latest ex. He told her he couldn't commit, then turned up engaged to a woman 15 years younger to them, and the two of them moved in across the street. The others? Gay, insane asylum, monk, etc. I know, it's a delicate balance. They couldn't all be normal, because then the book would be boring. Or, you know, the author would have to work harder to make the book entertaining. So it's just the litany of crazy mishaps and crazy boyfriends.

Which, again, is pretty entertaining. The issue is that, as the teacher of the class points out, this only says that Amelia needs to pick less crazy men. She doesn't need to change. There were a couple points when I thought she would realize that maybe part of her problem was that she was career-oriented. This could lead to her being all, "Hey, I'm cool with that--I have an awesome career!" or maybe trying to figure out a better balance or realizing that she buried herself in her career so she wouldn't have to deal with her life. No. At other times, I thought it would be that she'd realize her group of friends was too insular; she has three friends (whom she calls "girlies," which just drove me up a wall) whom she's known she was a child and with whom she's insanely tight. And again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it would be nice if maybe she thought that the tightness of her group might be intimidating to men. This is pointed out by her teacher. I'm not saying that she has to change...it would just be nice if Amelia were the least bit introspective about any of this.

But no. In the end, she chooses herself. Which isn't bad. It just seemed incredibly abrupt, and reinforced that her career and friends were more important than a man. And I don't disagree--I don't mean to say that at all. It was just all very odd.

It reminds me a bit of Something Blue. Now, Emily Giffin is a better writer; her characters have depth and are incredibly relatable. Except for in Something Blue, in which the main character, who's been pretty unlikable for the past book and a quarter (the book is a sequel to Something Borrowed), basically says, "Hey, I should become a Good Person," then acts like one. And ta-da! Transformation! Incredibly superficial one, in my opinion. I guess I just need a bit more of the inner workings of the characters.

Maybe I'm just ticked off at the lost potential. I see a better story there, just wanting to get out. But it doesn't.