2013: The Year in Film: "Enough Said" Review

First, RIP James Gandolfini. I know that it's been a while at this point, one may justifiably say "too long", but the man truly was a great actor and according to all accounts, an even better guy. Even though I didn't come to 'The Sopranos' until far too late, several years after it initially aired, I can say that it's easily one of the best 2 or 3 television dramas of all time, and that Tony Soprano is just maybe the best fictional character in American history. It's crazy that as I type that, it doesn't even seem like an exaggeration. Tony was as complicated, charming, likable and infuriating as he was because of the inherent warmth and every man humanity of Mr. Gandolfini. Even though Tony was a sociopath and murderer who made his ample livelihood on the pain and exploitation of other people, through Gandolfini's portrayal, he was first and foremost a man. A husband and a father, different from the men in all of our lives only by degrees. So, farewell and rest peacefully, sir, you left us far too soon.

Given that Gandolfini's warmth and humor were often buried beneath the types of roles he was often asked to play, perhaps it's fitting that his final film would be an indie romantic comedy, then? First, as an aside, I'm really starting to sour on American "indie" comedies. They have become such an indelible trope that at this point they all just sort of blend together the way that traditional rom-coms, crappy comedies or crappy action flicks. It's like everyone watched 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'Juno' one weekend and just decided "let's all be like that, you guys". 'Quirky' characters with nonsensical jobs? Check. Pithy, quip-filled dialogue? Check. Characters that exist for no discernible reason other than to be comic relief? Check. Catherine Keener? Check, check and check. Maybe this isn't fair and I'm painting an entire sub-genre with far too broad a brush, but I'm really starting to feel like all of these movies exist in the same universe and I'm just missing something. It feels a bit lazy and more than a little rote.

Enter: "Enough Said". Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a divorcee and single mother who works as an in-home masseuse and somehow affords a California lifestyle meets and begins to date a man she meets at a party. This man, Albert, happens to be a divorced single dad, and the ex-husband of Eva's new friend Marianne, unbeknownst to all parties involved. Romantic shenanigans ensue.

The Good: Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus have a palpable chemistry and each have an inherent likability that allows the film to rise above what may have felt like routine or even contrived plot and settings. This isn't an ambitious film, but one that's perfectly content to put together a sweet, simple little story featuring two likable actors in the kind of roles typically reserved for much younger and handsomer actors. Even with my stated "indie" fatigue that I mentioned above, I found the story surprisingly sweet and affecting, and also quite funny at times. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener has directed several episodes of the always great 'Parks and Recreation', and her sense of comedic timing shines through.



The Bad: while this film is admittedly better than I'd have thought (I basically only saw it because it was the last work of Tony Soprano), it ultimately isn't able to rise above its indie trappings. The film is, by and large, unremarkable among its ilk, and the screenplay feels like something that could have been written at any point over the last 20 years.

I'm sorry if that feels unduly harsh! Ultimately, this is a likable film featuring likable people, with some sweet moments and some surprisingly affecting ones, especially regarding parenthood and the post nuclear family. So if you're a fan of anyone involved or looking for a quick watch with 90 minutes to kill, or if you're just wondering what it's like to see Tony Soprano and Elaine Benes make out, you could do much worse.

7/10