Enough Said *** (2013, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone) – Movie Review

The 2013 American romantic comedy drama film Enough Said, written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette and Ben Falcone.

James Gandolfini in a romcom? Well that’s a bit of a surprise! Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as Eva, a divorced single parent, who works as a masseuse but dreading her daughter’s impending departure for college.

At a party, she meets Albert (James Gandolfini), an amusing, appealing, if over-weight like-minded man also facing an empty nest, and also the poet Marianne (Catherine Keener), to whom she hands her business card. Marianne becomes her new massage client and new best friend. Albert becomes her new lover, as their romance quickly blossoms.

Marianne seems perfect, except for continually dissing her ex-husband. And, what’s worse is, that unfortunately Eva is suddenly confronted with the truth that her new man is her new friend’s ex-husband.

Writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s bitter-sweet, melancholic romantic comedy is deliciously observed and beautifully written – and above all consistently funny throughout. It is extremely sweet, amusing and touching, sort of sad but a whole lot of fun too, with two very fresh and lively performances from the perfectly cast stars.

It is astonishing how sweet and funny Gandolfini is here. The man who is for ever Tony Soprano finally shows what a superb, versatile actor he was when given the chance.

Louis-Dreyfus is ideal in a huge banquet of a star role – everyone else is a supporting turn to her. The script is not afraid to make Eva a multi-layered warts and all character, and Louis-Dreyfus has no problem playing her blemishes as successfully as her merits. Keener is good, as always, and so is Tony Collette as Sarah. They haven’t a lot to do but they do it well.

Enough Said premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and was released on 18 September 2013. Gandolfini died of a heart attack at 51 on 19 June 2013, almost a year after the film was completed but before it was released, and Holofcener added the dedication to the end credits ‘For Jim’. Gandolfini did not feel that he was right for the part but Holofcener said he was perfect. He never saw the completed film.

It was shot over 24 days in Los Angeles on a budget of $8 million, and earned $25.6 million at the box office.

Holofcener’s script is partly inspired by her own life as a divorced mother of two teenagers, though the actors often ad-libbed their lines.

The cast are Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Eva, James Gandolfini as Albert, Catherine Keener as Marianne, Toni Collette as Sarah, Ben Falcone as Will, Toby Huss as Peter, Anjelah Johnson as Cathy, Michaela Watkins as Hilary, Eve Hewson as Tess, Amy Landecker as Debbie, Christopher Nicholas Smith as Hal, Kathleen Rose Perkins as Fran, Tracey Fairaway as Ellen, Phillip Brock as Jason, and Tavi Gevinson as Chloe.

Holofcener’s notable movies include Walking and Talking, Lovely and Amazing and Friends with Money. Keener appears in all of Holofcener’s four previous films.

© Derek Winnert 2013 derekwinnert.com