Review of Enough Said (2013) by Darren W — 21 Jan 2014

Typical romantic comedy directed and written by Nicole Holofcener with a couple which is a little bit different - Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini (in one of his final film roles). You will find out that film stars Toni Collette, Catherine Keener, Ben Falcone, and Toby Huss, as well. Until tonight I could swear that Julia Louis-Dreyfus can't act - everything I ever saw with her was so bad that I almost refused to watch this one. I am glad that finally I had a chance to see her in a role worth watching... James Gandolfini was always good, he was never my worry!

Enough Said has many good points, but stars Louis-Dreyfus and Gandolfini need special mentioning along with Holofcener's script. The story of Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a professional masseuse who divorced her husband some years ago, was unfolding very smoothly and was easily getting my attention. I was already hooked at the beginning when she attends a party in Pacific Palisades with her friends, married couple Will (Ben Falcone) and Sarah (Toni Collette). Eva meets a self-described poet, Marianne (Catherine Keener). Will introduces Eva to his friends, Jason (Phillip Brock) and Albert (James Gandolfini)... and from there a real story starts!

In 93 minutes you'll have a chance to enjoy a delightful, warm-hearted and frequently funny comedy with an emotionally engaging, sharply observed script and a pair of wonderful performances. It was long time ago when I had a chance to praise a romantic comedy like this! The director and writer put a lot of herself in this film, its inspiration is unapologetically personal. Holofcener was married for 10 years, has been divorced for another decade. She's sceptical about the advisability of trying to change anyone ("If you love somebody leave them alone") and has a frank compassion about the failings of both genders. We had a chance to see that through the extremely well developed characters of Eva and Albert, and all the others surrounding them. Of course, watching it, you will say to yourself few times that you've seen this already somewhere else... but, it is like life itself - "déjà vu"...