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bryantWell, it's good that someone will take up the burden of making Woody Allen flicks when Woody stops. Might be sooner than we think; the guy appeared on the Oscars, after all. Anyhow, it's a harmless little piece of amusing fluff for the first hour or so. Very New York. Copyeditors don't get paid enough to afford apartments lke that. In the last half an hour, the pacing falls off and the plot suffers a failure of nerve which pissed me off in a slow and lasting kind of a way. Oh, and Jennifer Westfeldt was very appealing as Jessica Stein.
So, OK, now that I've blatantly circumvented my "no titles" fetish so you can decide if you want to be spoiled or not, I'll bitch about the movie. Be warned that these are not coy, hinting spoilers. These are spoilers with a sledgehammer.
The story arc is this: Jessica meets Helen. They fall in love. They don't work out; they part. Jessica is a better, changed person for the relationship. She returns to the man she dated in college, or is likely to do so. Helen and Jessica are best friends. All are happy.
The problem for me is that Jessica Stein does things which I cannot help but consider to be totally bitchy and damaging, and there's no real acknowledgement of that in the movie.
Both Jessica and Helen were just trying out homosexuality. So, sure, Jessica's not at fault for deciding it's not for her. However, she is at fault for going far enough with it to hurt Helen. Or did she? The last scene is Helen and Jessica being best friends, and all's well, so perhaps Jessica isn't so much of a bitch after all.
But... the most poignant scene in the movie, for me, was when Helen's bitching about what a cocktease Jessica is. And then the phone rings, and Helen picks it up, and it's Jessica, and there's an absolutely beautiful human honest moment as Helen's face softens and she smiles and she's joyous because her love is calling her.
Which is... nothing? Unimportant? How can we believe that this moment didn't have meaning? The movie fails to criticize the stars, who happen to be the writers. It is not honest in this. If Helen has drawn back from that open, uncomplicated love and is satisfied with Jessica's friendship, then Helen is dishonest with herself.
I fault the movie for making me believe in Helen's love, and then treating it as though it were unimportant.
There's also the fact that I lied in my summary; Jessica doesn't actually decide anything. She didn't decide to admit to her relationship with Helen and invite Helen to the wedding. Her mother told her she knew, and it was OK. Not that Jessica admits this to Helen. As far as we know, Jessica let Helen think that she told her mother.
For that matter, Jessica doesn't tell Helen she's not interested anymore. Helen has to confront Jessica with the fact that they haven't had sex in a month. After which Jessica tells people that Helen dumped her. I find I don't believe that Jessica is, in fact, a better person. Perhaps she uses people more effectively.
Sigh.
So, OK, now that I've blatantly circumvented my "no titles" fetish so you can decide if you want to be spoiled or not, I'll bitch about the movie. Be warned that these are not coy, hinting spoilers. These are spoilers with a sledgehammer.
The story arc is this: Jessica meets Helen. They fall in love. They don't work out; they part. Jessica is a better, changed person for the relationship. She returns to the man she dated in college, or is likely to do so. Helen and Jessica are best friends. All are happy.
The problem for me is that Jessica Stein does things which I cannot help but consider to be totally bitchy and damaging, and there's no real acknowledgement of that in the movie.
Both Jessica and Helen were just trying out homosexuality. So, sure, Jessica's not at fault for deciding it's not for her. However, she is at fault for going far enough with it to hurt Helen. Or did she? The last scene is Helen and Jessica being best friends, and all's well, so perhaps Jessica isn't so much of a bitch after all.
But... the most poignant scene in the movie, for me, was when Helen's bitching about what a cocktease Jessica is. And then the phone rings, and Helen picks it up, and it's Jessica, and there's an absolutely beautiful human honest moment as Helen's face softens and she smiles and she's joyous because her love is calling her.
Which is... nothing? Unimportant? How can we believe that this moment didn't have meaning? The movie fails to criticize the stars, who happen to be the writers. It is not honest in this. If Helen has drawn back from that open, uncomplicated love and is satisfied with Jessica's friendship, then Helen is dishonest with herself.
I fault the movie for making me believe in Helen's love, and then treating it as though it were unimportant.
There's also the fact that I lied in my summary; Jessica doesn't actually decide anything. She didn't decide to admit to her relationship with Helen and invite Helen to the wedding. Her mother told her she knew, and it was OK. Not that Jessica admits this to Helen. As far as we know, Jessica let Helen think that she told her mother.
For that matter, Jessica doesn't tell Helen she's not interested anymore. Helen has to confront Jessica with the fact that they haven't had sex in a month. After which Jessica tells people that Helen dumped her. I find I don't believe that Jessica is, in fact, a better person. Perhaps she uses people more effectively.
Sigh.
