Sarah Jessica Parker as Kate Reddy in “I Don’t Know How She Does It.” (Photo Courtesy of The Weinstein Company)

During one of the more climatic scenes in Sarah Jessica Parker’s new movie, “I Don’t Know How She Does It” her co star and on-screen husband, Greg Kenner, says to her “Sometimes okay just has to be good enough.”

Perhaps the film’s director, Douglas McGrath, took this statement to heart while making the movie, because once you boil it down, “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” is just that— okay.

SJP plays Kate Reddy, an ambitious businesswoman who wants to have it all: the perfect family, the perfect job and the perfect life. However, what would this movie be if we couldn’t watch this woman struggle?

In the beginning of the movie, Kate somehow manages to keep her hectic life in balance. However, when a new deal at work requires her to spend two months traveling with a wealthy banker played by Pierce Brosnan, Kate finally looses control.

What starts with missing her son’s first haircut, snowballs into family issues ranging from an angst pre-teen daughter all the way to a trip to the hospital on Thanksgiving.

Essentially, this is what “I Don’t Know How She Does It” is all about — an hour and twenty minutes spent watching a woman dangle on a wire, hoping she doesn’t fall off. And in true Hollywood style, she doesn’t.

“I Don’t Know How She Does It” is filmed in a peculiar manner for something billed as a chick-flick. McGrath opens his movie with an interview of SJP’s on-screen best friend Allison, played by Christina Hendricks. In a move that this critic deems as lazy, McGrath easily sets up Kate Reddy without having to lift a finger.

Later in the film, McGrath recycles this technique to create more than stale scenes from the usually rib breaking, Busy Phillips. In fact, McGrath seriously underutilizes his cast of funny women. No movie with the comic talents of Olivia Munn and Busy Phillips should be this un-funny. It’s just wrong.

With a cast that includes seasoned actors like Sarah Jessica Parker and Greg Kenner, a bad movie is really hard to make.

However, when the movie’s jokes come from what seems to be a handbook on clichés and the most dramatic moment could be classified as a “boo-boo,” “I Don’t Know How She Does It” never really gives us a chance to take it seriously.

While the movie may not have been taken very seriously, Sarah Jessica Parker’s Kate is played quite well. There are few actresses that have the charm that SJP possesses. Even though she was given flat scenes and corny lines, SJP manages to come out of “I Don’t Know How She Does It” with her reputation intact. With a character that closely resembles her famous Carrie Bradshaw, SJP was a shoe-in to be the loveable female lead.

In summation, “I Don’t Know How She Does It” misses its mark. With a screenplay riddled with overused clichés and a direction better suited for television instead, “I Don’t Know How She Does It” will have you thinking “I Don’t Know Why I Saw This.”