So you just started dating this new guy, and suddenly you fall into a friendship with his ex-wife (though neither of them knows). Would you want access to the vast knowledge of his ex’s plus and minus charts, or would you rather discover him in a more free style fashion?
That is the question facing Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in Nicole Holofcener’s new crowd-pleasing comedy-drama-love-story “Enough Said.”
Eva doesn't even hesitate to lap up every last detail (mostly critical) being offered by her new friend, Marianne (Catherine Keener), a poet who used to be married to Albert (James Gandolfini in one of his last completed movie roles before he passed away last June).
REVIEW
Enough Said
Who: With Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener. Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener.
Rated: Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, comic violence, language and partial nudity.
Running time: 93 minutes.
Grade: A-
Eva can’t believe her good fortune. She considers Marianne her personal “Trip Advisor” for her budding relationship. A divorced mom whose daughter is soon heading to college, Eva wants to get this one right. Of course, such knowledge and alliances can lead to all manner of complications.
Holofcener, whose films include “Walking and Talking,” “Lovely & Amazing,” “Please Give” and “Friends with Money,” has always had a great ear for the travails women embroiled in difficult relationships or struggling with post-divorce maladies. She usually travels in the indie realm, with more quirky themes and characters. This is by far the most mainstream and accessible movie she has ever made, and it offers a host of dead-on observations and good chuckles.
“Enough Said” features some of Holofcener’s best dialogue and winning performances all around. Keener, always an intriguing actress, has appeared in every one of Holofcener’s films and has become a kind of alter-ego for the writer-director. The cast also includes Toni Collette as one of Eva’s friends, who is weighed down by the tedium and exhaustion of marriage and kids; Ben Falcone as her husband; Tracey Fairaway as Eva’s college-bound daughter, Ellen; and Eve Hewson as Albert’s bratty daughter Tess, who is also college-bound.
Louis-Dreyfus is a charming presence. She has that amazing ability to turn one seemingly throwaway line, or word, into an effective, laugh-provoking moment. In “Enough Said,” she takes on a part with more depth than her usual comedic offerings, and completely nails it.
It helps that she is playing opposite such a distinguished pro as Gandolfini. It is a bittersweet experience watching Gandolfini’s grace and wit as the schluby Albert. (The “Sopranos” legend made this film and wrapped the crime drama “Animal Rescue,” due out next year, before he passed away.) Holofcener’s simple dedication in the closing credits reads: “For Jim.”
Source: Cleveland
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