Something's Gotta Give
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Movie Reviews of Something's Gotta Give
Movie Review: A Great Movie and an even better dvd
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie in the theaters in the late fall. I loved it then and I love it even more now.The plot focuses on Harry (Jack Nicholson), a very cool sixty-something New York bachelor, who serially dates women between the ages of 25 and 30. He does not apologize for his behavior; he simply is this type of person. Or so he thinks.
The movie opens with Harry traveling to the Hamptons with yet another piece of eye candy, Marin (Amanda Peet), for a fun, no-strings-attached weekend at her mother's house. The assumption was her mother was staying in the city. But no, before Harry and Marin can consummate their relationship, they stumble upon her mother, the famed playwright Erica Barry (Diane Keaton), and her sister (Frances McDormand). Awkwardness ensues...and even more awkwardness when Harry has a heart attack and Erica is left taking care of him after everyone departs for the city. To complicate matters further, Harry's young stud of a doctor (Keanu Reeves), has fallen for Erica. And so Erica ends up in a romantic triangle with Harry and the doctor.
Many wonderful small moments occur in this movie. The supporting characters--Amanda Peet, Frances McDormand, and surprisingly Keanu Reeves--are outstanding. Nancy Meyers, the screenwriter and director, makes sure that everyone realizes that despite their glossy coats, these characters have depth. Harry was at one time engaged to Diane Swayer; Amanda Peet's character is an auctioneer at Christie's; Keanu Reeves is not just a boy toy but a doctor.
The lead performance by Keaton and Nicholson are memorable. Diane Keaton shows you humor, intelligence and pain all at the same time. Nicholson allows this character to have depth and to grow beyond his shallow beginnings.
The DVD extras are well worth the price. Usually I understand after a viewing, why a deleted scene was cut. However this dvd includes a deleted scene with Nicholson singing "La Vie Rose" at a karaoke bar. He would have been nominated for an Oscar if it had been kept on. Likewise, the two tracks are treasures. On the first track, the director Nancy Meyers (with a little help from Keaton) explores the premise of the movie and the various difficulties during shooting. On the second track, Meyers and Nicholson examine his various acting choices throughout the film. You realize how hard he works and that he's not just being Jack.
I would recommend this movie to fans of romantic comedy and of Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. I would recommend the dvd in particular to individuals who want to learn more about the choices in filmmaking--and of course to lovers of romantic comedy everywhere.
Movie Review: Aphrodite `s triumph !
Summary: 5 Stars
The irony is a sadness that is incapable of laugh ; then , laughs.
Above all this is a post -Allen film . Diane Keaton is superb as the famous and reknown writer but emotionally a loser . Her intellectual height is her principal emotive barrier since she is incapable to get a man who navigates in her waters . She is an Athena woman , gifted with sparkling intelligence , dear prudence and necessary wisdom . But it seems to reach that vertex is not enough . It can not be . Because Aphrodite is absent .
As you can guess, you have the essential ingredients to develop a dramatic comedy . Keaton seems to emerge from a Woody Allen film .
In the other hand we have Jack Nicholson a successful executive the beloved seducer without any other duties and even complications in his private life . He represents the mirror male image of Aphrodite . He is a refined man and above all a powerful personality with charm and discretion he conquers all the possible women . The modern version of the Casanova : the yuppie version of Don Giovanni .
In the third corner we have to Amanda Pet an inhibited girl of these times . She is a successful woman and somehow she is the left arm , the aphrodisiac branch visibly missed in her mother .
In the fourth side of this square we have Keanu Reeves in a brilliant performance , he is a mature man despite his youth ,. He hasn't got a stable relationship in his social circle . so he watches in Keaton the blind side of Nicholson . He observes in Keaton the happy blending of the experience and the passion . He idealizes Keaton and in his mind Aphrodite is simply resting , not absent .
The smart device of the suggestive e-mails between these lovers reveal the lone aspect of their souls and works out as personal therapy which will allow them suggest what the real human presence sometimes avoids it by several reasons .
And the rest runs for you . A very smart script , pleasant dialogues and fine humour with a lovely homage to Casablanca : We will always have Paris .
Curiously Diane Keaton made the whole cycle . She stared in 1972 Play it again , Sam, a very clever stylised rhapsody about Casablanca with Woody Allen and directed by Herbert Ross . She plays the role assigned to Ingrid Bergman while woody Allen is chased by Bogart spectre along the film because he lacks the seducer magnetism of Humphrey and so he advises him.
Impressive acting for the entire cast and undoubtedly the finest American dramatic comedy in this Century .
Movie Review: True love knows no (age) limits
Summary: 5 Stars
Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are charming in this humorous love story about two intelligent, if not totally romantically centered, members of the middle-age set (toward the older end of the range).Diana Keaton has never been better. This was finally her perfect role. Jack Nicholson was cast in a part that could have been written especially for him. Erica Barry (Keaton) a successful middle-aged playwright who has emotionally and sexually closed herself off after divorcing her husband of 22 years (Paul Michael Glaser, still looking pretty good himself), meets the older man in her young daughter Marin's (Amanda Peet) life. This meeting marked by sudden, unexpected attack of the heart exposes her to successful entrepreneur and playboy Harry Sanborn (Nicholson). Sanborn has 'played at life' all of his 63 years before finally starting to get down to 'living his life' after facing the reality that he might have come close to the end of his life. Proving it never rains but it pours, Barry unexpectedly simultaneously claims the attention of Sanborn's young doctor (Keanu Reeves), some 20 years her junior, who finds her beauty and intelligence magnetically attractive.
During a real rain storm, the genuine romance of the film begins to bloom. The charm of the movie is in looking on as two emotionally-challenged characters experience love, perhaps for the very first time, with all its pitfalls, peaks, comical and embarrassing moments, and the magic, tender, endearing episodes that make true love the roller coaster it always is.
Keaton beautifully handles the over-the-top emotions of falling in love, portraying the highs and the lows, with equal brilliance. Nicholson, who as always portrays every mental spark that is a thought and every feeling that is an emotion on that amazing face; always a portrait in motion that can be as easily read as words on a page.
There are a lot of laughs in this film and there are a lot of truths in the tale. Some reviewers have called this a menopause chick-flick. The audience when I attended was about equal male/female, including some male viewers without dates. The laughter seemed equally distributed along gender lines, telling me that the guys 'get it' as well as the females.
Timeless romance with a sterling cast. See it soon and be reminded that love just gets better with age, as have Keaton and Nicholson.
Movie Review: A Classic Comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely do you see a film nowadays that is so perfectly cast, well scripted and beautifully directed. Something's Gotta Give is a romantic comedy that deserves to stand among such classics as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, The Philadelphia Story, and It Happened One Night. It stands out like a diamond in the rough among so many of the flimsy plots that litter most of the comedy films that have graced the silver screen these past few years. Diane Keaton delivers what is possibly the best performance of her career as uptight playwright, Erica Barry, who has given up all hope on love, when an unexpected turn of events turns her world upside down. With the most subtle of expressions and gestures, Keaton is able to make us laugh as we've never laughed before; she says what she means, she expresses how she feels and she does it all with that grace and talent that has captivated audiences for years. Nicholson, in a role which seems to have been written for him, delivers a performance that tops his brilliant portrayal of the obsessive compulsive Melvin Udall in the 1997 film, As Good as It Gets. As the eccentric, yet undeniably loveable character of Harry Sandborne, Nicholson plays a debonair older man who has a reputation for dating younger women. The combination of his character and Keaton's provides for a seemingly endless supply of witty banter and comical yet touching, and at times deeply moving, scenes that will have you rolling in the aisles with laughter. This film captures the warmth and enchantingly elusive quality that characterizes the best films of all time. With a supporting cast that includes delightful and perfectly cast performances from Frances McDormand, Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet, this film seems to be too good to be true. One of those rare films that gets better with each viewing, Something's Gotta Give deserves to garner, at the very least, Oscar nominations for Keaton's and Nicholson's brilliant performances, Nancy Meyers refreshingly clever and hilarious script, and the beautiful art direction. Something's Gotta Give served as a much needed breath of fresh air, proving to audiences that the art of filmmaking and the acting profession still have what it takes to charm, seduce and captivate audiences. A true classic film.Movie Review: Funny, and sophisticated - all a romantic comedy should be
Summary: 5 Stars
I admit that "Something's Gotta Give" [not a great title!] was not on my must-see list. Now, having seem it, it is my must own DVD list. While its stars, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, are two of my all-time favorites, most recent romantic comedies have not been original, funny or, for that matter, particularly romantic. While the only thing in the least original about the movie is the fact that the leads are practically senior citizens, it is outrageously funny and extraordinarily romantic. Harry [Nicholson] is a dedicated playboy who always dates young women. The sad thing is that he is now 63, perilously close to being old enough to be some of his girlfriends' grandfather. One summer day his latest flame, Marin [Amanda Peet], takes him on a weekend outing to her mother's beach house in The Hamptons. The couple is surprised to find that Erica [Keaton], the mom, is also visiting. Erica is a famous playwright. She writes romantic comedies, but, being 57 and divorced, she long ago gave up on falling in love again herself. Suddenly, Harry has a heart attack. The attending physician, Dr. Meyer [Keanu Reeves], suggests that Harry stay at Erica's house for awhile until he is strong enough to go back to New York. It turns out that Meyer has a thing for older women, and he begins to pursue Erica. Meanwhile, Harry's brush with death is causing him to rethink his life [maybe older ain't so bad], while Meyer is forcing Erica to rethink hers [maybe younger is the answer]. The ultimate solution to this love triangle is predictable, but the getting there is great fun.
Director/writer Nancy Meyers, herself 54, has written a mature, witty, sophisticated screenplay, but I think she herself knows that it is the magnetism of Keaton and Nicholson that makes the movie such a great success. [Interesting note: In real life the two once were lovers] The supporting cast is excellent and includes Amanda Peet Jon Favreau and Frances McDormand.]
If there is a problem with the movie, it is that it may be somewhat too sophisticated for today's mainstream audiences and critics. It has a very French feel to it, which is perhaps why the ending takes place in Paris.