Review of Enough Said (2013) by Steve S — 08 Jan 2014

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Enough Said is an effort aimed at adults about one adult and one not-so adult. ??Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a divorced masseuse with a daughter leaving for college in a short while.

She meets Albert (James Gandolfini) at a party and discovers he is also divorced and also has a daughter leaving for college in the fall.??Eva and Albert hit it off at the party in a subdued, measured way.

Albert likes Eva. He likes her sense of humor and her openness. Eva thinks that she may also like Albert, although she is surprised that she might be falling for someone who is fat.??After a short while, the movie takes a sharp turn south and becomes more and more absurd.

Eva meets divorced, narcissistic, navel-gazing, pop poet, Marianne. Eva doesn't know it, but Marianne is the former wife of Albert. Marianne, even though she is free of Albert, spreads vile, petty comments non-stop to Eva.

She talks about her perceived shortcomings of her ex-husband constantly. They are never issues of integrity or values, but petty laundry lists of annoying habits. ??Eva absorbs Marianne's petty, superficial judgments like a sponge.

At a dinner party hosted by her best friend, Eva suddenly and continually humiliates Albert in front of her friends. She spews out cruel, vengeful criticism and mocks Albert. Albert is crushed. He thought Eva cared for him the way he cared for her.

Eva broke Albert's heart.??Eva is shallow and needy. She attaches herself to her daughters best friend to make her a surrogate daughter and didn't even bother to wait until her own child had left for college to do so.

She realized that she made a huge mistake with Albert, not because she's sorry for betraying his friendship and love, but because she "misses" him company. ??Seriously, how is the audience expected to connect with a character like Eva? Albert is presented as a loyal, trust-worthy man with quiet dignity and immense integrity.

Eva is presented as a clinging twit without an ounce of self-awareness or compassion. Great acting jobs by Galdolfini, Louis-Dreyfus, Toni Collette (as Eva's best friend), and Catherine Keener (as Albert's ex-wife).

Weak script, poor character development, and directing. Enough said.