[Spoiler Alert: Below I discuss the premise of the film, which is not revealed until somewhat into the film.]
CAPSULE: What starts as a light comedy goes on to a story that raises some serious issues of relationships. Eva is a divorced masseuse approaching middle age who finds a guy she hits it off with. She also has a divorced client becoming her best friend who likes to complain about her own ex-husband. Soon she discovers that her new boy friend and the ex-husband are one in the same. Now does she ignore the client or does she take the friends insight on the man she might get serious about? Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini star in a film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Okay, let me ask you something. How much do you let reviewers like me influence your attitude about a film? Most people to a lesser or greater degree rely on the opinions of others. Some people make up their own minds ignoring other people's opinions, and some people want to take advantage of other people's experience. That is an issue very much at the center of ENOUGH SAID. It is about a woman who finds she has a special of information on a guy she might be serious about.
Single mother Eva (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) would like to remarry if she could ever find the right guy. And then perhaps she does. Albert (James Gandolfini) is not the most attractive guy and has a few bad habits. But he makes Eva laugh. Is he right for her or not? Eva is a masseuse by trade and meets and becomes good friends with a new client, Marianne (Catherine Keener). They have fun together and she likes to hear Marianne talk about her ex-husband and why the relationship became unbearable. Then Eva comes to realize that the ex-husband is her own Albert. Eva does not know if her relationship is right and decides she is getting valuable information about Albert from Marianne. Eva is not quite sure what she is being told is even reliable since on some details she disagrees. She does not tell Marianne or Albert, but really wants to learn about Albert from the inside information that Marianne gives her. Eva is fascinated with Albert's previous relationship and having found this peephole into the relationship she finds it hard to look away.
The script by director Nicole Holofcener is quietly funny and ironic as long as the situation allows it to be so. And rather than gags, the humor comes from the personalities. Holofcener centers the film on Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but demands little from her that she had not put into "Seinfeld" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine." She seems to have found her niche before she ever came to the public's attention and just plays that same person no matter what film she is in. On the other hand, James Gandolfini is certainly not playing a Tony Soprano here. He is a man of more sensitivity and with a better sense of humor. In this, his second-to-last film, he seems to be broadening out and finding a softer side to his character. It would have been interesting to see how he would have developed his acting skill in years to come. In a beard and mustache, however, he does not seem to have the same magnetic attraction he had as Tony Soprano. The film also features popular Australian actress Toni Collette, though she is somewhat under-used in this film. Holofcener brings the script into issues of privacy and of whether one can trust other people's judgments.
Also it is nice to see a story of relationships of people older than twenty-somethings. We do not get many of those these days. I rate ENOUGH SAID a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale or 8/10.
Film Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390361/combined
What others are saying: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enough_said_2013/
Mark R. Leeper Copyright 2013 Mark R. Leeper