Landline

I was rather surprised by Landline. For one thing it's about two sisters and neither had an infectious disease neither was a serial killer, prostitute or wearing spandex in the Marvel Universe. Just some real drama and although spotty here and there script wise there was some really very telling moments about the sisters here. The big deal in the film is that dear old dad is something of a 'man ****' I suppose you'd say. Played rather carelessly by fine actor John Turturro. The guy is honestly a bit of a slump. More interestingly is the affair of the older sister Dana, played very nicely by actress Jenny Slate, she and her younger sister Ali, Abby Quinn are sterling as sisters, really sympatico. The ending felt right as well with dad slumping in, I mean I don't see Harvey Weinstein catching a break! Still, sisters rarely get to be shown on the big screen and here I liked the tough but knowing interplay between them. I'd of liked to see more of them if this were a series instead of a movie. There is some drag however, a sort of malaise to the action that draws on too long. The film could have used a more savvy Editor, I hate to get tech with you here, I mean this isn't AFI... but the Editor is very, very important! Especially one who isn't swayed by a Director who is often a tad too close to the material. Lastly is the time 1995, wow, I'd forgotten how cool it could be back then. It was great to see this decade again. Which is surprising to say the least! See Landline, some of you may really hate it but I think many of you might like it too.

Conventional and somewhat cliche, but its cast delivers. The cast is solid and they're more than enough reason to watch it, especially because they are more than enough to turn around a story that could have been devastatingly irrelevant and insubstantial.

I love Jenny Slate, and she and the cast elevate an otherwise familiar script. There's not many laugh-out-loud moments but the charm and honesty from all involved make this worth a watch if you don't expect any twists.

Can't even understand how Gillian and Elisabeth managed to screw this film up. My goodness. My wife and I were loving it, and how real it is, and how punchy the dialogue was, and how great the acting is, and then they tried to wrap it up into a bow over the final 10 minutes? Shame on both of you.