Do You Know How Many Calories are in Guacamole?: ENOUGH SAID

 

Once you reach a certain age an you’re either still single or single again, you’re sorta like a used book on Amazon; anyone looking to buy the book thinks why didn’t they keep the book? Why is the price so reasonable? How worn is it? Maybe it’s better to buy a new one. Seeing the recommendations from other buyers who rate the sellers, helps a lot with your decision to purchase a used book.  And this is basically the premise of writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s latest movie Enough Said.

T&T Enough Said Synopsis: Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a middle-aged, divorced woman with a daughter who’s about to go off to college. She earns her living as a masseuse, but she’s not the new age, spiritual type.  She’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus doing what she does best, reacting to life in a way that’s kinda crazy but completely relatable, whatever the situation.  I particularly admire her performance in this movie because she walks a good line between being the woman we all know from TV and finding wonderful subtleties and a genuineness that you need on the big screen.

Eva meets Albert (the late James Gandolfini) at a party, and despite the fact their cocktail conversation revolves around not finding anyone at the party attractive – he later tracks her down and asks her out. Their first date is a slow simmer, but the second really heats up.  All is good until she realizes that her new massage client, Marianne (Catherine Keener) who’s been confiding in her about how dreadful her marriage was and how totally unappealing she found her ex, has been talking about Albert.

What’s pleasing to me: is despite the fact that Enough Said has a rather sit-com-ish premise, the exploration feels completely believable. I think it’s partly because you understand why Eva doesn’t say anything to either of them right away – Marianne is a successful poet with a beautifully decorated house, and carries herself with effortless sophistication. So it would be hard to admit to a woman like that, who you already feel a bit less than around, that you have been enjoying what she found to be completely distasteful.  Plus, Marianne giving her the skinny, or in this case the fat, on Albert – is like, as Eva puts it, having a “Human Trip Advisor”. You completely understand why she doesn’t say anything to Albert, because he’d never date a woman who was friendly with his ex.  It’s bad enough he has to share a daughter with this woman who has nothing good to say about him.

What’s more: Gandolfini is sweetly charming and surprisingly sexy with a glitter in his eyes. The movie gets filled out with other heart-felt and humorous nuances – like Eva’s best friend Sarah (Toni Collette) dealing with a surly housekeeper and a marriage showing signs of cracks. And Eva’s close relationship to Chole (Tavi Gevinson), her daughter’s best friend, which creates a mother/daughter jealousy.

Around the web: Though she isn’t nearly as prolific as Woody Allen, Nicole Holofcener’s smart, verbally dexterous slices of New York life have earned her frequent comparisons to him. In fact, the two do have a connection: Holofcener’s stepfather, Charles Joffe, was Allen’s longtime producer, and as an apprentice film editor, she logged some footage from his 1986 classic Hannah And Her Sisters. But beginning with 1996’s Walking And Talking, Holofcener has set herself apart as an expert chronicler of human relationships, with a strong sense of humor and a refreshing resistance to tying up dramatic loose ends. Her subsequent efforts, 2001’s Lovely And Amazing and 2006’s Friends With Money, have confirmed her ability to balance a large ensemble of actors and continued a fruitful relationship with one actress in particular, Catherine Keener, who’s had prominent roles in all. – Scott Tobias READ MORE A.V. Club

Food in Film Moment: Albert explaining his encyclopedic knowledge of TV shows – “I  was raised like veal, in a dark room, feed, and kept quiet.”

 T &T’s LAMB Score: 3.5 out5

#writers #moviebuffs #filmlovers #bloggers – I couldn’t go this week to see Captain Phillips  with Tom Hanks and none of my 3 blog contributors were available either. Tinsel & Tine really needs another person who lives in Philly preferably in Center City or can easily get to the city to be a blog contributor.

You have to just love movies and writing, because it’s NOT a paid gig. However, you do get to see Preview Screenings for FREE!

Interested applicants can contact me: tinseltine@gmail.com

Thanks!

Philly Film Blog