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!
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!