Enough Said

[RAZORBACK]

The trailer above made a regular appearance at my local Cineworld this weekend and I have to say that I'm quite looking forward to catching it (release date is currently scheduled as the 18th of October).

I must admit though that watching James Gandolfini in his second to last film will no doubt leave me feeling a little bit down ...

[RAZORBACK]

Went to see this yesterday and it pretty much lived up to my expectations. James Gandolfini was solid in this but I thought that Julia Louis-Dreyfus really stole the show performance wise.

Overall this is a bitter sweet comedic drama that more than deserves an 8/10 from me ...

[Ms Thrifty]

My sister and I saw this yesterday and of the (admittedly few) films we were considering, this was the one we most felt like seeing and of which we had the highest hopes.

I quite enjoyed it but certainly wouldn't rate it as highly as have most critics have - I've seen lots of 4-star reviews but would only award this 3 (or 7/10), though it's pleasant and undemanding enough.

My sister, however, hated it and said that although it was a relatively short film (cf Captain Phillips, Prisoners, etc) it felt longer! She said none of the characters was sympathetic and she had various other objections. I'd never seen James Gandolfini in anything before and had only seen Julia Louis-Dreyfus in one other film (and that only days before), so was unable to compare either their performances or characters to any previous work, but I'm not sure whether that was an advantage or the opposite. Certainly we agreed that it was a hard film to categorise (not necessarily a negative point, obviously): it wasn't a comedy, a drama or, whatever the marketing says, what we would consider a rom-com.



I did feel it was too contrived and that most scenes were just a little too slow or left to linger just that little bit too long. On the other hand, I seem to love whatever Toni Collette does and enjoyed seeing her in this, albeit once again, as more usually, in a supporting role.

[alythonian]

Saw this last night on a Livingsocial voucher.

It's a bitter sweet comedy and it's very well acted by the 2 leads. Toni Collette was a bit wasted in the bit part she had although it was nice to hear her use her own accent rather than an American one.

7/10 from me.

[sikmansam]

Saw this last tuesday at the Soho hotel after I won tickets via twitter. Really glad I did win in the end, there was some great chemistry between Julia Scott-Dreyfus and the late Gandolfini (both brilliant) and it was a consistently funny, balanced view of people and relationships. The only thing I couldn't stand was the soundtrack, which had 'generic rom-com' written all over it, despite the complexity and realness of the characters.

8/10

My review:

[funthing29]

I saw this at London Film Festival with a Q&A with Julia and the director.

I think it is deserving of a 4 star review. It hits the right tone without being too slushy or too serious. The characters were likeable and sympathetic I thought and some nicely improvised comedic scenes. I even gave it 8.5/10.

[Beate]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the perfect cinema experience. It works like this:

You get OH to the barber shop which happens to be opposite the Greenwich Picturehouse. You send him to the toilets there afterwards, while you peruse the programme. At 6.20pm you decide you want to watch Enough Said which is on at 6.15pm. By 6.30pm you finally have the tickets which are free as you still had some free tickets from your membership. You happen to get your favourite seats which are even better today as the two seats from the row in front have mysteriously disappeared. The cinema is small and not very full. The people are quiet. You just manage to catch two trailers before it starts.

And you realise you have managed to catch a perfect little gem, with wonderful actors which make those characters feel very real. When that friend of the daughter turned up the first time I did a double-take - she looks just like a young Michelle Williams. Really, the resemblance was uncanny.

I don't think I have ever seen Julia Scott-Dreyfus in anything but she was marvellous. She is a masseuse who has to be civil to her clients even if they get on her nerves. There is a lot of fake friendliness displayed until she meets Gandolfini who she forges a connection with almost immediately, especially as they are sharing imminent empty-nest syndrome. It all progresses nicely until she realises that Gandolfini is the ex of a woman she massages who endlessly bitches about him. She allows herself to be influenced by her negativity, not realising how destructive it is.

The film is very mature and intelligent, showing you how difficult relationships can be and that you have to realise that someone who isn't right for you can be just right for someone else and that you should make your own mind up about people.

The only thing that made me deduct a point was the abrupt ending - then again, this isn't the type of film that needs big "running to the airport" gestures to work.

Right? Sure. Yah.

9/10

P.S. I have to say though that stage-whispering through a movie would be a dealbreaker for me!

[raj101]

saw this with a sweet sunday voucher, after Bad Granpa which you might consider the bad twin to this movie for me that day. Bad twin as in Danny Devito/Arnold Shwarz kind of twins. Its completely different from Granpa!

Enough Said is a complete antithesis to Bad G, being a gentle comedy that's never relies on being crass or in your face. It feels more real (ha!) than BG too, such is the script's quality, obviously written by someone whos been in the shoes of the characters. The humour is often largely inferential as opposed to in-your-face (often just the subtle expressions of the leads faces was enough to say a lot), I have to admit it took me a while to adjust to it after the frenetic pace of the previous movie that afternoon.

Once settled, I enjoyed a decent romcom which made you think about relationships without it ever resorting to silliness. A slowburning slice of life in your forties. 9/10 but you need to be in the right chilled mood for it. Don't see it after Rush!

[Ms Thrifty]

Well, maybe I'm too hard-boiled or could sense my sister emanating disapproval, or both, but I seem to be out of step with everyone here in thinking this pleasant but overrated. On the other hand, I'm still glad I saw it to satisfy my curiosity and I'm especially glad that I did so before reading the latest batch of very favourable reviews and ratings, or I'd have been even more disappointed!

[raj101]

well it wasn't amazing, Thrifto, I get your point, it was just nice to see an ordinary story delivered well without flaws.