We first see Amelia and Laura as girls, lying on their bed, reading a cribbed copy of "Joy of Sex" and making fun of what they see like pre-teens do. For some reason, they're both wearing bathing suits.
We then see them again as adults, played by the great Catherine Keener and Anne Heche, respectively. They both have guys interested in them, both, perhaps coincidentally (or not) who work at establishments they frequent. The video store guy (Kevin Corrigan, another busy character actor) is after Amelia, but she refers to him simply as "the ugly guy". (He's not ugly, it's just that his glasses and choice of hairstyle don't do him any favours).
Amelia turns the video store guy down, until she finds out that Laura is now engaged to her boyfriend (played by actor and fantastic filmmaker, Todd Field). Then, she jumps at the chance, and all seems to be going pretty well until he plays a message on her machine of Laura referring to him as "the ugly guy".
Amelia seems frantic to get involved with someone, perhaps to get on her friend's level. She doesn't know that Laura accepted her boyfriend's proposal, but is already questioning if she wants to marry him. What's more, the service industry guy who is interested in Laura invited her to watch him in a play, and she went. There's not a whole lot of chemistry between the two of them, anyway, but then nor does there seem to be that much between her and her new fiancé. Or is she sabotaging her relationship with him on purpose?
The real romantic chemistry in the movie, ironically, is between Amelia and Andrew, her ex-boyfriend, played by another great actor in Liev Schreiber.
It is typical in a Holofcener movie that characters actually do resolve their issues and stay together. This is one of the reasons why I like her movies. They're typical indie comedy/drama fare in that they feel more realistic than Hollywood flicks, the acting is more naturalistic, the plots are more believable. The worlds feel lived in and the characters feel like they've done the living.
I keep comparing Holofcener's movies to Solondz's and Baumbach's. Unlike those two, Holofcener actually likes her characters. There's a warmth that radiates from the screen. (Solondz apparently hates his characters, and with Baumbach it's hard to tell).
Holofcener's movies are like cinematic comfort food, and that's why I enjoy them. "Walking and Talking" was an impressive debut.
We then see them again as adults, played by the great Catherine Keener and Anne Heche, respectively. They both have guys interested in them, both, perhaps coincidentally (or not) who work at establishments they frequent. The video store guy (Kevin Corrigan, another busy character actor) is after Amelia, but she refers to him simply as "the ugly guy". (He's not ugly, it's just that his glasses and choice of hairstyle don't do him any favours).
Amelia turns the video store guy down, until she finds out that Laura is now engaged to her boyfriend (played by actor and fantastic filmmaker, Todd Field). Then, she jumps at the chance, and all seems to be going pretty well until he plays a message on her machine of Laura referring to him as "the ugly guy".
Amelia seems frantic to get involved with someone, perhaps to get on her friend's level. She doesn't know that Laura accepted her boyfriend's proposal, but is already questioning if she wants to marry him. What's more, the service industry guy who is interested in Laura invited her to watch him in a play, and she went. There's not a whole lot of chemistry between the two of them, anyway, but then nor does there seem to be that much between her and her new fiancé. Or is she sabotaging her relationship with him on purpose?
The real romantic chemistry in the movie, ironically, is between Amelia and Andrew, her ex-boyfriend, played by another great actor in Liev Schreiber.
It is typical in a Holofcener movie that characters actually do resolve their issues and stay together. This is one of the reasons why I like her movies. They're typical indie comedy/drama fare in that they feel more realistic than Hollywood flicks, the acting is more naturalistic, the plots are more believable. The worlds feel lived in and the characters feel like they've done the living.
I keep comparing Holofcener's movies to Solondz's and Baumbach's. Unlike those two, Holofcener actually likes her characters. There's a warmth that radiates from the screen. (Solondz apparently hates his characters, and with Baumbach it's hard to tell).
Holofcener's movies are like cinematic comfort food, and that's why I enjoy them. "Walking and Talking" was an impressive debut.