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Lovely And Amazing
2001
With a handful of dry one-liners that pepper the script with much-needed comic relief, LOVELY & AMAZING takes a glimpse at the everyday lives of three sisters and their middle-aged mom. Michelle (Catherine Keener) is the eldest sister. She is an artist that makes tiny chairs out of twigs and moss, but cannot seem to find a .. Read more
| Starring | Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin |
|---|---|
| Director | Nicole Holofcener |
| Genres | Drama |
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Lovely And Amazing
With a handful of dry one-liners that pepper the script with much-needed comic relief, LOVELY & AMAZING takes a glimpse at the everyday lives of three sisters and their middle-aged mom. Michelle (Catherine Keener) is the eldest sister. She is an artist that makes tiny chairs out of twigs and moss, but cannot seem to find a market for them. Her husband, who grows more distant daily, nags her to get a real job. The light of her life is her 8-year-old daughter, but even there, she seems to cling to an ideal vision of motherhood that she has not yet achieved. Her sister Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), an actress, struggles to overcome insecurities about her looks and has a bad habit of collecting stray dogs. Annie (Raven Goodwin), is their adopted African American sister who is 8 years old, overweight, and feels out of place. Jane (Brenda Blethlyn), their mother, is loving but self-centered, and she is hospitalized throughout the film because of a botched liposuction surgery. Writer/Director Nicole Holofcener (WALKING AND TALKING) imbues the film with an unflinching frankness, banking hard situations and discouraging pitfalls against the stability of this closely-knit middle-class family. No matter how horrible life seems, the family is there as an indestructible safety net.
| Starring | Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin, Aunjanue Ellis, Clark Gregg, Jake Gyllenhaal |
|---|---|
| Director | Nicole Holofcener |
| Studio | ORCHID |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 27 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 13 Jan 2003 Production year: 2001 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Building on the reputation she forged with her debut feature, Walking and Talking, writer/director Nicole Holofcener explores the emotional fallout that accrues when self-absorption meets low self-esteem in this caustic, expertly played and admirably restrained comedy drama. Although widowed mother Brenda Blethyn is undergoing liposuction and younger sister Emily Mortimer is seized by doubts about her beauty despite a burgeoning acting career, it's the underachieving Catherine Keener who experiences the gravest identity crisis, as she veers from a loveless marriage into a romance with her teenage boss at a one-hour photo shop. Only a subplot involving Blethyn's eight-year-old adopted African-American daughter feels contrived rather than truthfully observed.
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"...Dermot Mulroney gives a witty performance....You'll find yourself laughing and sometimes cringing in recognition during many of the uncontrollably truthful encounters..."
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Most helpful member's review
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12 out of 12 people found this review helpful
A smart comedy-drama with a strong cast
'Lovely and Amazing' is the second film from writer/director Nicole Holofcener. Like her debut 'Walking and Talking' it's an amusing, well written film which is a little lacking in depth.
Catherine Keener is trapped in a loveless marriage and is heading to an affair with her teenage boss. Her sister, Emily Mortimor is an actress who's paranoid about not being beautiful enough and their mother(Brenda Blethyn) is about to undergo liposuction.
With those three actresses it's hard to go too far wrong and Holofcener wisely lets them have plenty of room to develop their characters. They all respond with fine performances, Keener relishes the more caustic elements of the script and Blethyn makes the most of her screentime.
The real standout performance comes from Emily Mortimor as the neurotic actress. She is touchingly fragile and also has to perform a startlingly brave nude scene.
It's no masterpiece but it is fun and marks Holofcener out as one to watch. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Not bad - Good Performances
A slightly boring look on the lives of three sisters and a mother who is in hospital at the time. Great performances from all involved but this film lacks a strong storyline and the ending is unsatisfying.
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Lovely And Amazing
With a handful of dry one-liners that pepper the script with much-needed comic relief, LOVELY & AMAZING takes a glimpse at the everyday lives of three sisters and their middle-aged mom. Michelle (Catherine Keener) is the eldest sister. She is an artist that makes tiny chairs out of twigs and moss, ...
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