Themes: Starting Over, Unrequited Love, Single Life
Main Cast: Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, Martin Donovan, Richard Schiff
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Noted screenwriter Richard LaGravenese made his directorial debut with this dramatic comedy about two unlikely people who find each other while looking for love. Judith Nelson (Holly Hunter) is suddenly single after discovering her husband of fifteen years, a successful doctor (Martin Donovan), has been having an affair with a younger woman. Judith stews, plans, plots and fantasizes, but she can't decide what to do with her life until she goes out to a night club to see singer Liz Bailey (Queen Latifah), who is full of advice on life and love. While out on the town, Judith is suddenly kissed by a total stranger, which opens her eyes to new possibilities ... which is when she notices Pat (Danny De Vito), the elevator operator in her building. Pat's life is in even worse shape than Judith's; his wife has thrown him out for gambling, he's in debt to loan sharks, he's sleeping on the couch of his more successful brother, and his daughter is dying. At first Pat borrows money from Judith, but when the two start talking, they realize they have more in common than they imagined. LaGravenese based his screenplay on a pair of short stories by Anton Chekhov. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Richard LaGravenese's directorial debut is the sort of film most screenwriters dream of getting the chance to write, much less direct. Emphasizing the interior lives of its characters and using techniques unique to filmmaking to convey the evolution of each, its modest ambitions lead to highly memorable results. A scene in which Holly Hunter reconciles herself to her past and future while dancing in a bar loses power in any attempt to describe it, but on the screen provides a knockout moment. When screenwriters turn filmmakers, the first instinct is usually to rely on an excess of words to tell the story, a trap that LaGravenese -- though certainly no slouch when it comes to memorable dialogue -- skillfully avoids. Of course, the writer/director's good instincts would be nothing without the universally excellent cast he assembled. Holly Hunter, Danny De Vito, and Queen Latifah all turn in powerfully understated performances perfectly suited to a film that never takes the easy way out and never relies on pat resolutions. When the term "slice of life" gets thrown around, it's this film that should be the reference point. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide
