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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
I didn't want this movie to end. Lovely & Amazing centers around two sisters--Michelle (Catherine Keener), a would-be artist, and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), a fledgling actress. Both are grappling with their mother's (Brenda Blethyn) going in for liposuction, the erratic behavior of their adopted sister (Raven Goodwin), and the flounderings of their love lives. Because her husband is having an affair, Michelle has a fling with a 17-year-old (Jake Gyllenhaal); meanwhile, Elizabeth breaks up with her sincere boyfriend (James LeGros) and falls into bed with a glib movie star (Dermot Mulroney). But no plot description will capture the exquisite pleasures of this movie; Lovely and Amazing is a superb kaleidoscope of moments, each new fragment shifting the whole into a new delightful pattern. The entire cast is outstanding; the script and direction of Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking) are subtle, funny, and sharply observed. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
An intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women and the bitter sweet lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their individual neuroses. Includes Director's Commentary; trailer; stars Aunjanue Ellis, Brenda Blethyn, Cat
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Twain
Format:DVD
The four females in "Lovely & Amazing" look at themselves through a self-cracked mirror. Jane (Brenda Blethyn) is a well-off woman in her 50s who cares enough about others to adopt Annie (Raven Goodwin), an 8-year-old African-American girl whose birth mother is a crack addict. Jane also cares enough about herself to sign up for cosmetic surgery ($10,000 a pop and no insurance) to remove 10 pounds from her midriff.
Along with Annie, Jane has two adult daughters. The older one, Michelle (Catherine Keener), is a former homecoming queen who has turned into a childish, self-centered neurotic. Though Michelle's husband constantly prods her to get a job, she fancies herself an artist. She makes miniature chairs to sell to knickknack shops, but no one's buying.
Michelle's younger sister, Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), is a beautiful aspiring actress who's already landing some small movie roles. But she has such a distorted self-image that she thinks of herself as unattractive -- even as she's posing for a photo spread in Vogue. Asked to do a "chemistry" audition with a big star named Kevin McCabe (Dermot Mulroney), she's forced to listen while casting agents casually appraise her sexuality -- or lack thereof.
Both sisters are stuck in unfulfilling relationships. Elizabeth's overcritical live-in boyfriend is tired of hearing her obsess about her auditions, her resume photos, her agent, etc. Meanwhile, Michelle's sullen self-absorption and testy attitude have worn down her husband to the point that he's not especially interested in sleeping with her. To spite him, she takes a menial job at a one-hour photo shop, where her teenage boss (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes a Mrs. Robinson-like interest in her.
As she proved in her fine 1996 film, "Walking and Talking," director Holofcener has an uncanny understanding of people as well as a gift for sharp, funny dialogue. Yes, "Lovely & Amazing" will probably spawn noxiously shallow lifestyle pieces on why women have poor self-esteem. But the film is much subtler and more complex than that.
The entire cast is terrific, from Goodwin to Mulroney. But you have to focus on Keener, perhaps best known for her role as the merciless co-worker of John Cusack in "Being John Malkovich," who's become the Queen of Late Summer. She's creating her own type -- the acerbic smarts and ironic world-view of wisecracking dames like Rosalind Russell or "Frasier's" Peri Gilpin, with a twist of simmering anger and a drop of self-loathing. As vulnerable as she is venomous, she doesn't want to be the way she is, but she can't quite give it up, either.
Deftly directed, winningly acted and shrewdly written, "Lovely & Amazing" is as softhearted as it is ruthless, as amusing as it is poignant, but it does have its faults. Mostly, it doesn't offer a lovely and amazing final resolution, one reason why I wish it went on longer. It's an engrossing and emotional film that every woman (and gay man) should see.
28 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Nicole Holfcener's "Lovely and Amazing" is not all lovely and amazing but it certainly is pretty and unique. I think the film's success or failure depends largely on how you perceive/like/tolerate/love/hate Catherine Keener; for she is the kingpin and the do or die of this movie.
On the negative side, Catherine Keener-wise, she has pretty much been playing the same role for the last ten years: super smart, a bit needy, marginally successful, and sometimes strident. And she exhibits many of these traits in the role of eldest daughter Michelle Marks, daughter of Jane (Brenda Blethyn) and older sister of Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer).
On the positive side, Keener has some rare for her quiet, dramatic scenes that she handles with aplomb. These scenes mostly involve her mother and her stepsister and they are refreshing in that Keener is allowed to show her softer, vulnerable side. She also has some hilarious, loopy, smartly written and directed scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal as her erstwhile and amorous "boyfriend."
"Lovely and Amazing" follows the lives and loves, the ups and the downs of the Marks women in their various quests for boyfriends, flatter tummies, fulfilling jobs, etc.
Holcener has infused the film with humor and a slightly off-center wit that carry the film along at a fast clip but she also knows how and when to slow down the pace and get serious. There are many touching scenes such as the one between Elizabeth and Kevin McCabe (Dermot Mulroney) in which she asks him to assess her naked body because, like most of us, she has body issues. He reacts by pointing out the mostly good as well as the not so bad. He calls the incident "refreshing" and indeed it is in an astringent, gee-she's-really naked-for-three-minutes kind of way. Heretofore, McCabe, an actor and closet good guy has been painted as a jerk but Elizabeth obviously sees something we don't and proves to be right.
"Lovely and Amazing" is a rare breed of film: one that can make you laugh and then laugh harder. It touches not only your heart but your soul as well.
On the negative side, Catherine Keener-wise, she has pretty much been playing the same role for the last ten years: super smart, a bit needy, marginally successful, and sometimes strident. And she exhibits many of these traits in the role of eldest daughter Michelle Marks, daughter of Jane (Brenda Blethyn) and older sister of Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer).
On the positive side, Keener has some rare for her quiet, dramatic scenes that she handles with aplomb. These scenes mostly involve her mother and her stepsister and they are refreshing in that Keener is allowed to show her softer, vulnerable side. She also has some hilarious, loopy, smartly written and directed scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal as her erstwhile and amorous "boyfriend."
"Lovely and Amazing" follows the lives and loves, the ups and the downs of the Marks women in their various quests for boyfriends, flatter tummies, fulfilling jobs, etc.
Holcener has infused the film with humor and a slightly off-center wit that carry the film along at a fast clip but she also knows how and when to slow down the pace and get serious. There are many touching scenes such as the one between Elizabeth and Kevin McCabe (Dermot Mulroney) in which she asks him to assess her naked body because, like most of us, she has body issues. He reacts by pointing out the mostly good as well as the not so bad. He calls the incident "refreshing" and indeed it is in an astringent, gee-she's-really naked-for-three-minutes kind of way. Heretofore, McCabe, an actor and closet good guy has been painted as a jerk but Elizabeth obviously sees something we don't and proves to be right.
"Lovely and Amazing" is a rare breed of film: one that can make you laugh and then laugh harder. It touches not only your heart but your soul as well.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
LOVELY & AMAZING is just what this beautiful little film is. Though the main characters are all bruised women - wannabe actress, flailing crafts-maker housewife, adopted African American 8 year old who grapples with obesity/skin color/genetic parent memories, and the mother of all three of these who places her 'embarassingly aging body' in the hands of a plastic surgeon - the etiology of thier dysfunction is tightly joined to their questionable ability to interact with men. The men range from a womanizing husband, an insensitive lover, an 'unavailable' doctor who begin the path toward the women's testing their needs and fears with movie stars and adolescents. In the hands of a lesser writer/director this could be corny, but with Nicole Holofcener's skill she creates plausible people and situations that are the perfect blend of comedy with tragedy. The cast is outstanding: Brenda Blethyn's mother demonstrates once again how versatile this actress truly is, Catherine Keener and Emily Mortimer and Raven Goodwin give us fully realised characters and the contributions of the "good guys" Jake Gyllenhall and Dermot Mulroney really bring heart to the story. The remainder of the cast is uniformly strong. Some people are classifying this as a "Chick Flick", but speaking as a man I think there is much to be learned about the frailties and strengths of women and the concurrent availability of worthwhile men available to them if each can swim past the social and emotional barricades we learn and see the lovely and amazing aspects of the individual heart.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
great movie
the shipping was timely, and it is a really great movie thanks to everyone, even the universe itself oh, and thanks for all the fish
Published 27 days ago by maxwell19596
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ideal for a regular TV series
This film was very enjoyable indeed. Featuring some very good performances from the whole cast, its an enjoyable story centred around three women. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mikey
4.0 out of 5 stars
Annoying characters, clever banter; Great acting
Certainly, the characters in Nicole Holofcener's film have issues. Whiny and unhappy, there's a lot of angst expressed throughout. Read more
Published 11 months ago by R. Gawlitta
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two women and their mother, all with issues
Directed by Nicole Holofcener, a fairly young director making her second or third film, it may be best known for the full stand up nude scene with Emily Mortimer. Read more
Published 14 months ago by M. Oleson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest, moving portrayal.
We just screened this movie in film class. It is so good. The Marks women (& girl) in this movie all struggle with insecurities feelings of inadequacy. Read more
Published 18 months ago by C. Moskovitz
2.0 out of 5 stars
wandering
This was a pretty pointless movie. The acting was more often than not needy and flat. Catherine Keener seemed totally out of place, as if she was trying too hard to be energetic... Read more
Published on October 16, 2010 by Enjolras
5.0 out of 5 stars
A credible portrait of women and their everyday struggles
"Lovely and Amazing" is precisely that - an amazing drama about the struggles of ordinary women trying to feel better about themselves in a world that is too often harsh and cruel. Read more
Published on August 28, 2010 by Z Hayes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heartkindness paid nothing
It is a story of going-liposuction mother and grandmother having an eight old daughter of Afro-American background adopted to entertain herself as two biological daughters (an... Read more
Published on September 26, 2009 by Michael Kerjman
3.0 out of 5 stars
One reason to watch it: Brenda Blethyn
Brenda Blethyn is in this movie. She's one of my favorite actresses and has been since `Secrets and Lies'. Here she's, are you ready for it, quirky! Read more
Published on April 13, 2009 by Cynthia
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe She Was A Good Swimmer
It drives me mad to read reviews posted about this beautiful film that describe it as a chick-flick or a women's film or the most stomach-churning of them all, L.A. Read more
Published on August 21, 2008 by Jeff Miller
