Enough Said

The first date that James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus embark on in Enough Said - has to be one of the great getting-to-know-you encounters in movie history.

It's a movie that approaches novelistic richness. [7 Oct. 2013, p. 89]

It sounds like rom-com hell. And it would be if Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus weren't such an appealing pair of misfits. It's a pleasure just to watch them spar.

A wry and moving look at a time in life that tends to get short shrift in U.S. cinema.

The director was smart enough to take a trait that often caused an actor to be be typecast as a menacing figure and turn it into a strength.

Assured, adult filmmaking from a writer/director who knows her way around the ups and downs of relationships.

Enough can't be said about how the late James Gandolfini comes so close to saving writer-director Nicole Holofcener's latest articulation of white suburban anxieties.

LTIH keeps me coming back, for sure. I enjoy all the characters and story lines and each episode is better than the last. This is an interesting set of characters, and well acted, even though they may find themselves in rather contrived situations, such as a car theft and ensuing chase by elderly drivers, or locked in a creepy mansion. The one-on-one conversations are superb. I can't wait for the next episode and season.

Shocking and very Sad was the death of James Gandolfini about a year ago. As is the case with Surprise endings, there is More to be Said! Mr. Gandolfini has a number of 'last films' to see. I've seen a few of these last films, this one is bitter/sweet with a romance with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which is interesting casting to say the least. In the film Gandolfini's EX-WIFE, a poet is somewhat of a **** about him... calling him fat a slob and sorta stupid. What Man isn't, I say to her! Still and though it's good to see Gandolfini one last time... VERDICT: SWAN SONG/67 OF 100

Julia L-D deserves a lot of credit here. She's one of those sitcom stars who seemed to get slicker, sleeker, sexier every year (see also: Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, et al.). But here she lets herself appear older, worried, not made up -- still adorable, for sure, but so much more real. The film is heavy on coincidence and wryness -- EVERYone is coming through the wry, continually -- but in a Nancy Meyers-type way that strikes touching notes about relationships, divorce, kids leaving the nest. Moms will shed tears. And James Gandofini seals the deal with a performance of real warmth.

This was barely even a movie! Turning a camera on a random couple for 90 minutes would produce more interesting banter. Marginal screenwriting at best.

The sole redeeming character is that of Gandolfini. The women hate men. JL Dreyfuss engages in emotional betrayal and abuse of a person who only is nice to her. Movie has meaningless subplots, like how to fire a housekeeper that borders on racist; who cares about the man who lives on a walk up why is it triumphant to have JLD ask for the man's help finally (a man portrayed as thoughtless, even though he is obviously paying for a service). The only nice relationship is between JLD and her daughter's friend.