Lovely and Amazing
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Movie Reviews of Lovely and Amazing
Movie Review: Sensitive film with as much to say to men as to women
Summary: 4 Stars
LOVELY & AMAZING is just what this beautiful little film is. Though the main characters are all bruised women - wannabe actress, flailing crafts-maker housewife, adopted African American 8 year old who grapples with obesity/skin color/genetic parent memories, and the mother of all three of these who places her 'embarassingly aging body' in the hands of a plastic surgeon - the etiology of thier dysfunction is tightly joined to their questionable ability to interact with men. The men range from a womanizing husband, an insensitive lover, an 'unavailable' doctor who begin the path toward the women's testing their needs and fears with movie stars and adolescents. In the hands of a lesser writer/director this could be corny, but with Nicole Holofcener's skill she creates plausible people and situations that are the perfect blend of comedy with tragedy. The cast is outstanding: Brenda Blethyn's mother demonstrates once again how versatile this actress truly is, Catherine Keener and Emily Mortimer and Raven Goodwin give us fully realised characters and the contributions of the "good guys" Jake Gyllenhall and Dermot Mulroney really bring heart to the story. The remainder of the cast is uniformly strong. Some people are classifying this as a "Chick Flick", but speaking as a man I think there is much to be learned about the frailties and strengths of women and the concurrent availability of worthwhile men available to them if each can swim past the social and emotional barricades we learn and see the lovely and amazing aspects of the individual heart.Movie Review: Insightful and very well acted
Summary: 4 Stars
"Lovely and Amazing" is a vivid portrait of a middle-class American mother and her three daughters. It is sometimes funny and sometimes sad. There are few pat answers here, no moral judgments, and no calls for vengeance against males or society in general. It simply presents some of the problems women face today, then lets the viewer come up with his or her own thoughts on the issues.Jane Marks [Brenda Blethyn] has decided to have liposuction at the age of fiftysomething. She asks her older daughters, Michelle [Catherine Keener] and Elizabeth [Emily Mortimer] to look after the youngest sibling, Lorraine [Aunjanue Ellis], an adopted Afro-American. All of these women have serious issues. Jane is fighting her advancing age. Michelle is an artistic type who has never found a satisfactory outlet for her talents and whose marriage is decidedly rocky. Elizabeth is an actress obsessed with her body, her looks and her image in general. Lorraine has a weight problem and confusion about her identity. This may sound like the ingredients for a soap opera or a dark comedy, but it is neither. It is a deeply etched group of character studies, and one of the most honest and revealing movies about women I have ever seen.
Greatly adding to the film's impact are the performances by all of the female leads. In supporting roles, Jake Gyllenhaal and Dermot Mulroney are excellent as the men that Elizabeth and Michelle turn to in their desperation.
Movie Review: So sad about us.
Summary: 4 Stars
Nicole Holofcener's Lovely And Amazing has alot of terrific moments, but overall pales in comparison to her earlier Walking And Talking. The comedic tone this time is a lot darker as we observe a few days in the life of a mother and her three "screwed-up" daughters (two biological adults and an adopted African-American child). Holofcener again uses the acerbic Indie staple Catherine Keener, who plays the lazy, bored and arrogant eldest daughter. Keener is without doubt the best thing here, she's played this character many times before but does it so well the repitition hardly matters. If only the other characters were as engaging (or as painfully true to life).
Lovely And Amazing suffers from the presence of a few flat (male) characters and one too many unresolved subplots.
It's a more ambitious film than Walking And Talking and that's probably why it's not as satisfying.
In an age of expensive, overpraised, CGI smothered, Tinseltown atrocities, the very existence of a small budgeted delight like Lovely And Amazing is quite revolutionary.
Movie Review: a vivid slice-of-life, warts and all
Summary: 4 Stars
While I'd never call this movie a cinematic masterpiece, it was definitely enjoyable and touching on many levels. Its strength rests squarely on its characters, who are both engaging and original---no Hollywood cookie-cutter, you-know-who-she-is-in-the-first-five-minutes stereotypes. Four females, all vulnerable, insecure, trying to find their way through the wilderness. No neat answers or comforting happy endings, just a gradual working through of a few issues here and there. Nothing is easy or predictable here, but everything is always interesting, even when nothing much is really happening.
Katherine Keener is excellent as usual playing her usual shrewish role, Emily Mortimer is irresistible especially during her glorious 3 minutes of full nudity, Jake Gyllenhall bears a striking resemblance to Tobey Maguire and is equally talented...there's not a bad thespian in the whole film!
If you value originality, realism, and fully fleshed-out characters, you'll enjoy this one!
Movie Review: love this movie
Summary: 4 Stars
i love this movie! i am a big Catherine Keener fan, and she is so great in this film. the characters are so interesting, and i think the movie is beautiful in it's simplicity.