Enough Said (2013)
Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Tracey Faraway, and Tavi Gevinson
Directed by Nicole Holofcener
Movies like Enough Said don't get made nearly enough nowadays. I mean, honestly, when's the last time you've seen a romantic comedy focusing on normal folks in their late forties/early fifties falling in love? It doesn't happen and maybe it should. Writer-director Nicole Holofcener gives us two characters who are wholly relatable with whom, after a short ninety minutes, we long to spend more time. What more can you ask for from a movie like this? The characters make or break a movie like this and in Enough Said I wanted to continue alongside their charming journey to see where it will take them.
Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a masseuse who enjoys her job and loves her teenage daughter Ellen (Tracey Faraway), but finds herself missing that special someone after her divorce a few years prior. Still, she's come to terms with the fact that love probably isn't in the cards for her. When she accompanies her good friends (Toni Collette and Ben Falcone) to a party, she meets Albert (James Gandolfini), but doesn't find him attractive in the slightest, even telling him that to his face. However, she decides to agree to a first date with Albert simply because she hasn't been on a date in quite some time. While things don't go swimmingly between Albert and Eva, there's something there...that little indescribable spark. They have much in common and, with both their daughters heading off to college in a few short months, they're in need of some companionship.
One of the biggest reasons Enough Said succeeds is because there's an awkwardness between Eva and Albert that Holofcener isn't afraid to dwell upon. Things aren't precociously perfect or devastatingly awful between the couple as we often get in movies and choosing the middle ground and not one of the two extremes is a nice change of pace. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and the late James Gandolfini are huge keys to the film's success, utterly charming whether they're alone or together onscreen. Gandolfini is the complete opposite of Tony Soprano here, abandoning any sense of that "tough guy" persona for which he's so well known and fully embodying the softy that is Albert. Louis-Dreyfruss, heretofore known for her somewhat abrasively comedic roles on tv, takes on her first leading film role and has no problem whatsoever getting the audience to embrace her. She's not a perfect mom and doesn't claim to be, but that makes her character all the more relatable. Louis-Dreyfuss carries the movie without a problem and I'd love to see this down-home persona in more movies down the line.
There are moments in Enough Said that feel a little bit sitcommy -- particularly in scenes involving Eva's client Marianne (Catherine Keener) who just so happens to be Albert's ex-wife unbeknown to Eva who constantly has to hear Marianne spout off everything that was wrong with her former spouse -- but they're still funny and work overall in the grand scheme of things. Kudos to director and writer Nicole Holofcener (who also directed Please Give which I enjoyed a few years ago) who has crafted a movie that both you and your parents and your grandparents can enjoy without being too cutesy for you or too raunchy for your grandma.
Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a masseuse who enjoys her job and loves her teenage daughter Ellen (Tracey Faraway), but finds herself missing that special someone after her divorce a few years prior. Still, she's come to terms with the fact that love probably isn't in the cards for her. When she accompanies her good friends (Toni Collette and Ben Falcone) to a party, she meets Albert (James Gandolfini), but doesn't find him attractive in the slightest, even telling him that to his face. However, she decides to agree to a first date with Albert simply because she hasn't been on a date in quite some time. While things don't go swimmingly between Albert and Eva, there's something there...that little indescribable spark. They have much in common and, with both their daughters heading off to college in a few short months, they're in need of some companionship.
One of the biggest reasons Enough Said succeeds is because there's an awkwardness between Eva and Albert that Holofcener isn't afraid to dwell upon. Things aren't precociously perfect or devastatingly awful between the couple as we often get in movies and choosing the middle ground and not one of the two extremes is a nice change of pace. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and the late James Gandolfini are huge keys to the film's success, utterly charming whether they're alone or together onscreen. Gandolfini is the complete opposite of Tony Soprano here, abandoning any sense of that "tough guy" persona for which he's so well known and fully embodying the softy that is Albert. Louis-Dreyfruss, heretofore known for her somewhat abrasively comedic roles on tv, takes on her first leading film role and has no problem whatsoever getting the audience to embrace her. She's not a perfect mom and doesn't claim to be, but that makes her character all the more relatable. Louis-Dreyfuss carries the movie without a problem and I'd love to see this down-home persona in more movies down the line.
There are moments in Enough Said that feel a little bit sitcommy -- particularly in scenes involving Eva's client Marianne (Catherine Keener) who just so happens to be Albert's ex-wife unbeknown to Eva who constantly has to hear Marianne spout off everything that was wrong with her former spouse -- but they're still funny and work overall in the grand scheme of things. Kudos to director and writer Nicole Holofcener (who also directed Please Give which I enjoyed a few years ago) who has crafted a movie that both you and your parents and your grandparents can enjoy without being too cutesy for you or too raunchy for your grandma.
Lovely. Charming. Go see it. Enough said.
The RyMickey Rating: A-
I watched this because of your review. And I liked it so much I ended up watching it again. Unheard of! Not right away, of course, but again as in several months later.
ReplyDeleteHave you watched any of Veep? Because I liked her so much in this, I went and started watching that too. I may have to revisit Seinfeld now with my new Julia Louis-Dreyfus love.
I'm so happy you seeked it out! I think this is just a lovely movie and it STILL WORKS upon repeat viewings. It's one of those charmers that I could see standing the tests of time like Sleepless in Seattle and Love Actually thanks to the great work from Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini.
ReplyDeleteI don't get HBO, but I watched the first two seasons (?I think?) on a free preview weekend and I thought it was great. I'd really like to continue watching it at some point. I was never a Seinfeld guy and I never watched a second of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" so Louis-Dreyfus was never really on my radar -- I mean, I obviously knew who she was and would certainly recognize her on a red carpet -- but after watching "Enough Said," I had to wonder why she doesn't take on more roles in film.
She was my #2 Best Actress of 2013: http://rymickey.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-2013-rymickey-awards-best-actress.html
The screenplay was my #1 of 2013: http://rymickey.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-2013-rymickey-awards-best-screenplay.html
The movie overall was #4: http://rymickey.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-2013-rymickey-awards-best-picture.html