Enough Said (2013)

Who would have guessed that Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini would have such great chemistry? Nicole Holofcener, that’s who.

Eva (Louis-Dreyfus) is a single mom and masseuse. She attends a party where she meets poet Marianne (Catherine Keener) who becomes a client and then a friend. After the party, Eva starts dating Albert (Gandolfini). Despite Albert not fitting into her preconceived categories of good looking, she is attracted to him and they have a lot of fun. As she gets to know Marianne and hears about Marianne’s issues with her ex-husband, Eva begins to second-guess her relationship with Albert, his bad habits and his overflowing belly.

Eva is also preparing for her only child’s departure to college across the country in New York City. She is contemplating her ex-husband and what initially drew her to him because he is a man with whom she couldn’t share a laugh. Her best friend Sarah (Toni Collette) and Sarah’s husband Will (Ben Falcone) are frequent companions and we are privy to their marital foibles.

Enough Said is a feeling person’s romantic comedy. The story develops well, pulling us into a spiral that will leave several people scathed. It rolls up its sleeves and digs past the surface into the relationship dynamics and struggles affecting new couples, couples who’ve been together for a long time and friends. It poses questions about what is appropriate, the complications relationships present and the cracks that surface. It also showcases the differences between men and women’s thinking and problem solving.

I liked the ending. My companions did not. I would love to go on and on about it but that would ruin the ending for you. Go forth and enjoy this delightful offering and note it is one of Gandolfini’s last films.

Writer/Director: Nicole Holofcener

Country: US

Genre: Comedy

Run time: 91 minutes

Scale: 4

Friends with Benefits (2011)

We were flanked with the trailers, interviews and dates with the military folk. Did this saturation make me expect more?

Justin Timberlake was okay in The Social Network. After watching Friends with Benefits, I realized that Justin Timberlake is like George Clooney—he doesn’t act as much as play himself.

Head-hunter/recruiter Jamie (Mila Kunis) scores big when she convinces Dylan (Timberlake) to relocated to NYC from LA to take a job at GQ. The two hang out and become BFFs. They have a discussion about having sex sans strings and voila, it’s a friends-with-benefits arrangement. They seem to pull this off for a good long while. During this love fest, we also learn why both Jamie and Dylan are a mess in the relationship department.

Here’s the real mess—Friends with Benefits is lackluster. Even with some the quirky and heavy-hitters like Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Emma Stone, Richard Jenkins, Andy Samberg and Shaun White (the snowboarder), this movie still manages to fall short. Even Kunis, who is enjoyable in comedic roles has a hard time. Her lines are read with knee-jerk speed and without authenticity. It takes on too much. Some of the sub-plots were interesting but there are too many doors opened, not enough time (despite being long for a rom-com) and the ending wraps too conveniently.

Director: Will Gluck

Country: USA

Genre: Romantic comedy

Run time: 109

Scale: 3

TiMER (2009)

TiMER explores the technology of implanting a wrist timer that counts down to the exact moment you will meet your “one,” but only if your one has also been implanted. Otherwise, your timer will be blank (until your one gets a timer). Some don’t believe in timers; others like the idea of no struggle, no guessing, no chance of spending years with the wrong person and no divorce.

Determined, organized and goal-oriented Oona (Emma Caufield) doesn’t waste time; early into relationships, she coaxes her boyfriends into getting timers because, as she puts it, “we’re not getting any younger.” Her step-sister and best friend Steph (Michelle Borth), age 30, same as Oona finds out she won’t meet her one for 13 more years. The irony is that their 14-year-old brother gets a timer and learns he’ll meet his one within the week.

When Oona meets younger Mikey (John Patrick Amedori), a delicious cashier whose timer has him meeting his one in four months, she rethinks her strident view. Steph meets someone who has her pulling the plug on her one-night-stands. Both are in store for a big mess.

TiMER has an open-ended conclusion. Just like in real life, it feels like it will be problematic before it gets better. The details make this film—the social commentary diagrams the obsession behind finding the one. Characters re-wear clothing, engage in genuine-sounding dialogue and deal with relatable conditions and throw in some humor.

Writer/Director: Jac Schaeffer

Country: USA

Genre: Romantic dramedy

Run time: 99 minutes

Scale: 4.5

Californication (Season 3) (2009)

This season kicks off horrifyingly bad. Hank’s immaturity and obnoxiousness are off the charts. Yet the ladies continue to swoon. The lack of storyline is disappointing. What makes it different than soft porn? The show hasn’t changed, you say, but the storylines have lame-ified and it’s just a lot of screwing. Hank’s idiocy is eye rolling. He’s a joke as a professor and no one gives a crap. It isn’t until Karen returns from New York that Hank shapes up one percentage point. Question is, will this man-boy ever get sorted? Will the edge this show used to possess return?

What about Charlie and Marcy? That situation has digressed (I didn’t think it possible). Rick Springfield plays a dirtbag. How did he think this role was a good move? Why would he want to sully his image by portraying himself as a cokehead narcissist? Kathleen Turner as Charlie’s new boss is repulsive. Like a testosterone-fueled humper, she won’t lay off Charlie. She is so unlikeable that when she has her few moments of redemption, the deficit of likability is stacked against her. Becca is the only sane one. She finally hits her rebellion while running the Moody fraternity house.

This season jumped the shark. I felt dirty after watching it. What’s in store in Season 4? The last few episodes with Mia were the best because now, Hank has something to lose: the world may get proof of the depths of his depravity. How is Karen so calm about his parade of sex parters? How is she comfortable bare-backing with him? She’s aware of several of them and knows these are only a fraction of the whole. It’s this point that keeps me wondering why she would flip over Mia. She was underage, she was nearly her step-daughter, but I’m not convinced. Even with the bevy of guest appearances (Peter Gallagher, Ed Westwick, Eva Amurri), I was underwhelmed.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

Is it a documentary about street art? A mockumentary about an eccentric Frenchman who takes up street art at Banksy’s suggestion? An intelligent put-on buzzing with social commentary on celebrity and what it considered good art? Yes, yes and yes.

You meet Thierry Guetta, a vintage resale shop owner who’s never not video-documenting his life. When he begins filming his cousin—French street artist Invader, his life takes a turn. He meets other street artists. He starts filming them and getting into his role so much so that soon he's assisting them, climbing buildings and filming from high above. He documents the Who’s Who of street artists including Shepard Fairey (creator of the Obama Hope poster), Borf, Swoon (female representation), Sweet Toof. When he starts sniffing around for Banksy, the elusive English street artist, he’s told “never, it won’t happen, he doesn’t even own a phone.” But, a coup d'état occurs—they meet and it’s chemistry.

Clever and funny, Exit Through the Gift Shop is wickedly entertaining. The narration guides it like a fairy tale. Guetta is genius. Can a character like him be made up? Would these artists agree to be filmed? Who knows for sure? Many things don’t make sense—Guetta’s copyright infringement, the Disney incident, the over-the-top show (which means Brad, Angie, Christina and Jude were complicit or themselves duped)—but that adds it because you’re still unable to know what is really happening.

If you like street art, you may like this. If you like Banksy, you’ll love it. Don’t miss the what-are-they-doing-now bit at the end about Debora (Guetta’s wife). It’s a great touch.

Director: Banksy

Country: UK

Genre: Documentary with a heavy hand of comedy

Run time: 87 minutes

Scale: 5

Beginners (2010)

As of late, I am winning too, Charlie Sheen. On a winning spree of movies, that is.

Beginners is a love story—part rom-com, part dram-com. Introspective Oliver (Ewan McGregor) falls in love with Anna (Mélanie Laurent) in the months following his father Hal’s (Christopher Plummer) death. Oliver absorbs himself in the memories of his father coming out after 45 years of marriage to Oliver’s wacky mother, Georgia (Mary Page Keller).

Shortly thereafter, Hal reveals another doozy as Oliver continues examining his own life and why all of his previous relationships have failed.

The movie has a winning personality—uncommonly witty yet humble. Extremely well cast. One reviewer stated that McGregor gets better with age; I couldn’t agree more. I’ve admired him since Shallow Grave and Trainspotting but haven’t felt bowled over by him again until now. He plays Oliver with genuine compassion and warmth as he supports Hal, even getting a kick out of his discoveries in his new lifestyle, such as house music and falling in love. There are no recriminations or angry declarations—this isn’t that kind of movie. Rounding out the stellar cast is Arthur (Cosmo), Hal’s charming long-haired Jack Russell terrier. Arthur holds his own opposite the speaking characters. He even gets subtitles. It’s brilliant.

Beginners is a semi-autobiographical, based on writer/director Mike Mills' experience with his own father coming out. Mills uses old photographs and random images to help visualize parts of the story. He also presents LA scenes. Instead of the usual frenzied and sprawling, you get a peek at the tranquil spots in its neighborhood landscapes.

This one is a gem that shouldn’t be missed.

Director: Mike Mills

Country: USA

Genre: Drama

Run time: 105 minutes

Scale: 4.5