Prime (2005)

A career driven professional from Manhattan is wooed by a young painter, who also happens to be the son of her psychoanalyst.

Director:

Ben Younger

Writer:

Ben Younger

Stars:

Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, Bryan Greenberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Uma Thurman	...	Rafi Gardet
Meryl Streep	...	Lisa Metzger
Bryan Greenberg	...	David Bloomberg
Jon Abrahams	...	Morris
Adriana Biasi	...	Bay Ridge Blonde
David Younger	...	Brother #1
Palmer Brown	...	Brother #2
Zak Orth	...	Randall
Annie Parisse	...	Katherine
Aubrey Dollar	...	Michelle
Jerry Adler	...	Sam
Doris Belack	...	Blanche
Ato Essandoh	...	Damien
David Anzuelo	...	Bodega Counterman
Naomi Aborn	...	Dinah Bloomberg

Storyline

In colorful, bustling modern-day Manhattan, Rafi Gardet, a beautiful 37-year-old photography producer reeling from a recent divorce, meets David Bloomberg, a handsome 23-year-old painter recently out of college. Rafi's therapist, Dr. Lisa Metzger, who is working to help Rafi overcome her fears of intimacy, finds out that Rafi's new lover is--unfortunately for Lisa--her only son, David. Both David and Rafi must contend with their 14-year age gap, vastly different backgrounds and the demands of David's traditional mother. Despite their intense attraction, the charmed couple soon realizes that vastly different ages and backgrounds create much conflict. A Jewish hip-hop lover and closet painter who still lives with his grandparents, David has little in common with Rafi--a non-practicing Catholic from a wealthy, broken family who travels in the sophisticated, high-end world of fashion.

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Plot Keywords:

love | painter | divorce | psychoanalyst | dating | 

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Taglines:

A therapeutic new comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content including dialogue, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 October 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Couchgeflüster

Filming Locations:

Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$76,780 (Chile) (22 September 2006)

Gross:

$314,191 (Chile) (3 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prime Film Productions LLC, Stratus Film Co., Team Todd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sandra Bullock was originally cast as Rafi. Bullock wanted major script changes from writer/director Ben Younger but when he refused, she dropped out. Only two weeks before principal photography, Uma Thurman stepped in and replaced Bullock.

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Goofs

Two obviously-different red Chrysler convertibles are used in the early sequence of David and Morris driving to Morris' ex-girlfriend's house. Close-up dialogue scenes filmed in the car show a large, conspicuous high-mount brake lamp on the car's trunk in the middle background, but exterior driving shots of the convertible show a different model, with no trunk light at all.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lisa Metzger: Oh, I'm sorry. It's so hot in here, and I can't figure this stupid thing!

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Connections

References Blow-Up (1966)

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Soundtracks

"DEH VIENI, NON TARDAR"
from Le Nozze di Figaro
Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Text by Lorenzo da Ponte
Performed by Leah Daniel

User Reviews

Hilarious, but also realistic, romantic comedy

This movie was the opener for the San Diego Film Festival. It was amazing. I thought it was just going to be another "let's find out about ourselves" romantic drama, but it was engrossing from the start. It's funny throughout, without resorting to slapstick (not that there's anything wrong with that, just that slapstick tends to be overused). The characters are realistic, each reacting to the other in believable ways, but it ends up with mostly hilarious outcomes.

No spoilers here, but the rough idea is that an older, just-divorced woman (Uma Thurman) gets romantically involved with a much younger man (Bryan Greenberg). At the same time, she's working out her guilt over dating this younger guy with her therapist (Meryl Streep). But everyone's got a lot more depth than you'd expect and there's a lot more going on than just this surface activity. I think what I liked most about this premise is that it's complex but not contrived. And I liked how the story developed - it just flowed naturally from what each character seemed to want or need.

This is a well-put-together movie. The script (Ben Younger, also the director) is really tight - characters say things that you can believe, never more than they need to, and you always feel you got a bit more truth out of every scene. And just about every single line is perfect. I wouldn't say that about many movies. Younger said in comments afterwards that he worked on the script for 8 years. I believe it. It's really that good.

The actors were incredible. All the leads (Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg) were wonderful, as were the supporting roles. When I think of Meryl Streep, I think of heavy dramas, but here I saw just how funny she could be. I loved the exchanges between Streep and Thurman's characters, and between Thurman and Greenberg. You just feel like you're a part of what's going on and can't stop watching. Everyone seemed to be performing at their peak in this movie.

I can't recommend this one highly enough. I think most adults, particularly those 25+, will enjoy it. It's not really a chick-flick. It's sort of like Chasing Amy, L.A. Story or When Harry Met Sally in its honesty. It's funnier than just about any movie I can think of, regardless of genre (that includes movies like As Good as it Gets, The Ref, Blazing Saddles, O Brother Where Art Thou, Grosse Pointe Blank, Sixteen Candles), and provides powerful insights into relationships.

I hope Younger does more good work like this in the future, it's nice to see a movie that's worth the ticket price!