Customer Reviews

Amy's O

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The characters were believable, the actors well-cast, and the script, though sometimes a bit contrived, well thought out.
What some reviewers have seen as an overcomplicated mish-mash of psycho-babble, and artificial contrivances, was actually quite clear, and to the point. The point is - that life and love, are at heart - simple, direct, and emotional. The movie was about the modern malady of over-analysing every situation. Everyone wants a simple answer to every question, thus the huge popularity of self-help books. The truth however, as pointed out in this movie, is that there are no simple answers to life. Life is complicated, confusing, messy, and if you're having a good one - surprising.
It's only when the lead character (and her friends) stop analysing their relationships and just FEEL them that they succeed in finding happiness. In other words - love and relationships are like fingerprints - no two are alike, and no two can be written about, or analysed, using the same set of standards. We just have to learn to get out of our own way.

Lots of review people seemed to take this thing way too seriously - but it's only supposed to be a cute little comedy - not Gone With The Wind. And relax, nobody's even taking on Woody Allen here, either.

The Amy character is just your average confused, biological clock-ticking sweetie, that's all. And Julie Davis turned in a fine first effort as director AND star. Try doing that Chaplin bit yourself and you'll see it's like carrying a 100 pound backpack while running for the bus every morning!

The tortured "cross-purposes" priest was funny, the DJ guy was funny, and all of the Amy character's little friends were funny. What more could be asked of a low-budget project? And since the lead character doesn't just talk all the time to other chicks, it's not even a generic chick flick. Excellent!

Plus Julie herself emerged as a very attractive lady in many ways, being a classic neurotic (and erotic) Jewish gem, who is a frequent masturbator and has a perfect posterior (which she wrongly thinks is too big).

As a sidenote, I wonder if our gal - Florida's own Julie Davis - is tired of being constantly mistaken for Australia's Judy Davis? Maybe Julie should just change her name to Amy. That's who we all think of her as now, anyway.

Looking forward to your next project (in front of the camera again) Julie!

This is a great movie, a real departure from the usual rom com formula. I love Nick Chinlund's portrayal of the Howard Stern type...and I love Julie Davis. The movie's only flaw is that the finale stretches credibility, but the rest of the movie really plays up the insecurities and quirks in relationships.

I love this movie so much, I like being able to hear what her thoughts are as she tells her story. She tells it like it is and still ends up with the guy and a good love life.

Written & directed by Julie Davis, who stars as the title character- 29 year old best-selling Los Angeleno self-help author & celibate Amy Mandell who advises woman do not need men to be successful. There is also lesbianism at play, in the form of Amy's lecherous publicist Janet (Caroline Aaron- a Woody Allen veteran) who seeks to control & prey upon Amy's emotional anomy with thinly-veiled barbs about her looks. Amy is a typical Ivy League yenta who does not follow her own advice. Inside, she desperately wants love, but falls for jerks. The latest is a Howard Stern wannabe named Matthew Starr (Nick Chinlund). Amy does his radio show & falls for him, despite their banal pattering battle of the sexes. Yet, 1 can tell that they hit it off right away. He seems to be not as bad as he seems, but the set up veers away from triteness because we soon find out that while he's not the pig he plays he has deeper issues that will kibosh any relationship. & Amy is not the basket case we think, & have seen a 100 times before. Her problem is more profound: she actually is a well-adjusted person.
This is shown in some funny scenes where the Jewish Amy seeks free counseling by going to confession with a priest (Jeff Cesario) who slowly falls in love with her despite his exasperation.... Here is the film's only real failing- that it copped out with what seems like an appeal for commercial over artistic success. Matthew & Amy's relationship will never last.

Very, Very ,Very Funny look at the conflicts so many so called liberated women face. Well worth buying and watching several times.

I caught this movie on cable one night. I thought it was very funny. It's not a movie you can take to seriously. It has some good points about relationships, but in truth it's just a movie. I can relate to the movie because I am young women about the same age as the character. So pop some popcorn and watch this on a friday night alone or with someone you love. Enjoy!!

THis movie is still playing as I am writing this but I feel so strongly that I can't even wait until it is over...
This movie is so clearly trying to be Sex and the City and/or Bridget Jones' Diary but its characters are neither attractive nor endearing; they are rather annoying and overconfident. I actually want the main character to fail. The "love interest" is an unattractive and undeveloped character.
...this "film" is TERRIBLE and tries to sell a paper thin plot with a few well timed shocking sexual dialogues and scenes.

This was not the type of movie that I thought I would enjoy. In the beginning scene, when I saw women in line celebrating the main character's work with "Dump Him Now" t-shirts, I was tempted to hit "stop." Yet, there is a wonderful humaneness about this film that makes me warmly recommend it. Specifically, the main character, Amy, has written one of those "oh-so-trendy" books for women suggesting that "you-don't-need-him/you're-good-as-you-are-girl." In the midst of her independence tour, she finds out that much of what she thought about sexual relations is totally incorrect.

For those who feel uneasy about the DVD cover and its description, let me clearly state that it is a fair movie and definitely not a feminist one. Even the title of her book is tongue in cheek, "Why Love Doesn't Work" is as about as much a caricature as it gets. There are numerous politically incorrect elements in the film such as her fantasizing about getting raped, and when her publicist says that her book will reach all the women in need of self-help in America, "which is basically every woman in America." The publicist also calls the organizers of a million mom march, "a bunch of bleeding heart c--t feminists." Amy also informs us "the truth is, women hate each other."

There's nothing self-righteous about this movie. Every individual has flaws regardless of their genitalia, and nowadays, in the face of such widespread misandry in the entertainment industry, men must take notice and be relieved by what we have here. As a character, Amy is vulnerable, likable, and legitimate. She is also smart and able to question the dogma she was raised with, while possessing the skills necessary to discover what life's really about. She's someone that everybody can relate to at some level. The main male character, Matthew Star, has some unbelievable lines, and he's isn't inferior in any way. There's something about him that makes you giggle and relate whenever he's onscreen. Star's just a good guy and there's nothing metrosexual about him.

There is a great deal of believability in the film such as when Amy trots out the tired and often heard argument that "women who achieve have more to bring into a relationship," but achievement has absolutely nothing to do with a man's attraction to a woman. It's silly and based on fantasy instead of reality. I have to say that this movie stands athwart the social construction of gender and validates the view of innate biological differences between the sexes. Even if it were not so fun, humorous, and entertaining, that would be reason enough to recommend it without reservation.

This little film kicks the [...] of the over budgeted Hollywood stuff. (I hope to do the same with my comedies, if I can get some money.) It's no way as good as the classic Woody Allen. The word to describe this movie is INTERESTING, and the price is right. Very nice commentary track. Get it!