10s Movie Review - Enough Said

Director: Nicole Holofcener
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Tracey Fairaway, Michaela Watkins, Tavi Gevinson

Description: A divorced woman (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who decides to pursue the man (James Galdofini) she’s in interested in learns he’s her new friend’s (Catherine Keener) ex-husband.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.

WEEK 20: A MOVIE DIRECTED BY A WOMAN
 
Review: James Gandolfini was never a big movie star. Nor did he ever wanted to be. He initially even refused the role of Tony Sopranos in “The Sopranos”. However, the role was right up his alley, of which he became convinced himself. After he accepted, he became famous, but still turned down leading roles in large projects and played mostly supporting roles or bigger roles in smaller films. When he died in 2012, he left behind only a small body of work. Not because he wasn’t a good actor. His portrayal of Tony Soprano alone proved that. And the small comedy drama “Enough Said” also does.
We meet divorced mother Eva. Eva meets Albert at a party, and from that tentatively emerges a relationship of sorts, blossoming through recognition, vulnerability and light disarming humor. It is that vulnerability and previous hurts and failed relationships that make both Eva and Albert insecure in this new relationship, which is therefore immediately compromised.
At that same party, Eva also meet Marianne, at that point not knowing it’s Albert’s ex-wife. They become friends. When Marianne constantly complains about her ex-husband, Eva finds out about the connection. She keeps it quiet to find out more about Albert, which starts to get in the way of her own perspective about her new relationship.
Thanks to the two lead actors, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini, their chemistry and the humor of writer-director Nicole Holofcener it’s a fine, intelligent film. The insecurities that get in the way of the characters retain their dramatic power and you are watching two real people, instead of characters written for film.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Reviews - Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Director: Marielle Heller
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Jane Curtin

Description: When writer Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) falls out of step with current taste, she turns her art form to deception.

Review: Author Lee Israel called it her best work: the letters that got her arrested. To get by, Israel sold letters from famous writers like Noël Coward, Dorothy Parker and Ernest Hemmingway. She wrote them herself, on old typewriters, in the style of the sender. And she did it well, that even highly trained literary collectors didn’t see they were forged. She eventually managed to sell around 400 letters.
Israel had some success in the seventies and eighties, with two well received biographies. After her book about Estée Lauder didn’t become a bestselling novel, writer’s block hit her right in the face. And she lost total grace in the literary world. But this was also her character. Israel was a complex and difficult to deal with woman. A mundane job was not for her. When she hit rock bottom, forging letters was her way out.
It took her a year and a half to be discovered by the FBI. “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is based on Israel’s memoires, and shows how she worked. But most of all how pigheaded, weary and witty she actually was. It’s an alluring portrait of an anything but alluring woman. And she isn’t your typical main character, definitely not as a woman. That the film makers decided not to make her more sympathetic, is a very bold move. But it works very well because of it.
Melissa McCarthy is mostly known for her comedy roles and she often is very over the top. But in “Can You Ever Forgive Me” she is admirably modest. And because they don’t put the focus on the laughs, the jokes work better and Israel’s harrowing loneliness is more perceptible. Richard E. Grant plays Jack Hock, a similar type of outcast who befriends Israel. And his performance is super strong as well. Both actors were nominated for an Academy Award for their roles.
Touching moments and harsh humor vary and the film is wonderfully crafted.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # What to Expect When You're Expecting

Director: Kirk Jones
Genre: Comedy/ Romance/ Drama
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Matthew Morrison, Elizabeth Banks, Ben Falcone, Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Brooklyn Decker, Dennis Quaid, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford, Chris Rock, Joe Manganiello

Description: A look at love through the eyes of five interconnected couples experiencing the thrills and surprises of having a baby, and ultimately coming to understand the universal truth that no matter what you plan for, life doesn't always deliver what's expected.

Review: The title tells you everything: all the ins and out about pregnancies and babies. The movie follows five different stories about this subject. First we have Jules, the presenter of a weight loss program, who is having a baby with her partner Evan. There is Gary and his wife Wendy who have been trying to get pregnant for two years. But when it finally happens, it’s not as fantastic as she always thought. Gary’s father Ramsey and his very young new wife Skyler are also expecting, and she does have the glow that Wendy was always hoping for. The young Rosie gets pregnant after a one-night-stand with Marco, the guy who left her on prom night. And finally Holly and Alex who are trying to adopt a child. Holly is ready, but Alex clearly isn’t.
It’s very clever to make an ensemble film out of this concept, multiple storylines work well very often. And various genres are mixed as well. This makes it to an unbalanced film. Over-the-top slapsticks switch to dramatic moments that don’t really fit in here.
Although I love Cameron Diaz, she isn’t the real star in this film. Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone, who play Wendy and Gary, and Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford, as Rosie and Marco, have the most interesting storylines and are the most convincing. I especially think that the last two actors where underused.
It’s definitely an entertaining movie, but it never really hits the mark.

Rating: 2,5/ 5