In this charming flick for chicks, and basically any woman seeking entertainment in the fulfilling sense, Diane Lane off her successful Oscar nominated role in “Unfaithful” takes a much lighter approach this time around with this fun-filled satisfying romp worthy of watching. Based on the book from Frances Mayes, the charming Lane plays Frances, a woman who is basically a sort of socialite around the town, but her life is basically cut down when her husband (whom we never see) divorces her, leaving her for another woman. A wreck and with no clue as to what to do next, she moves into an apartment in a divorcee complex next to a man who sobs on a nightly basis. Her friends, a lesbian couple decide to give her a trip to Italy, she refuses not ready to get into the social scene yet, but much to her surprise, it’s a gay tour.
Tag Archives: Romance
Le Divorce (2003)
In the film, Roxeanne is the humble American wife who takes care of her daughter and is pregnant, but when her husband leaves her on the eve of her sister Isabelle’s arrival, she finds she must struggle to pay for her apartment and daughters ballet lessons. Isabelle is quickly comfortable in the French culture but stands by Roxeanne, but when a painting they’ve inherited suddenly is caught between a rival family, they have to fight to take it home and received the money that’s rightfully theirs. “Le Divorce” is a study, a study of American values about love, life, marriage, divorce and the role of woman versus French values about the exact same topics. It’s a sort of America vs. France allegory set through a struggle between two families, a notion that is especially exercised in the scene in which Hudson, Watts and Thomas Lennon’s characters meet with the appraiser for dinner, and they all begin sparring with him in their knowledge of wines, cuisines, and just wit in general.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Gurinder Chadha tells the tale of Jess (played by the beautiful Parminder Nagra), the youngest in a traditional Hindu family who still follows the ritual of arranged marriages, and ceremonial garbs, but loves to play futbol. She plays it with an all boys team against her parents wishes. She is recruited one day by Jules, a professional futbol player who asks Jess to play for her professional team in which they’ll be coached by the potential love interest for the two and maybe Jess and Jules will be recruited into the American futbol team, but not if her mother and father have anything to say about it.
Seabiscuit (2003)
This depression-era tale and celebration of Americana, based on true events is a marvel to watch that doesn’t totally grab you from the get go, but it surely is worth watching. Directed and adapted by Gary Ross and based on the true tale of the undersized horse who lifted a nation’s spirits and brought America to its toes with its speed as the underdog, “SeaBiscuit” becomes a tale about beating the odds, the triumph of competition, and how one small animal can bring a nation together to forget its miseries. This is not a movie about a horse, no it is not, it is a tale about a horse and the three broken people who were brought together by the drive to compete.
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)
Sure, it was a bit presumptuous on Kennedy and his agent’s part in spinning off a mildly amusing character from his rather obscure comedy show into a feature length movie, and while, once again, all of my expectations were down, I was pretty surprised to find this was just so entertaining. The movie no one has been asking for but came to theaters anyway, stars Kennedy as white rapper B-Rad who lives in the rough and tough notorious streets of–Malibu California with a large mansion he declares as small, and friends who are about as intimidating as gangsters as Britney Spears is talented, not.
40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
Matt is a guy who just broke up with his life-long girlfriend Nicole. After two years of a bad break-up he’s finding it difficult to get over her, and after one meaningless sexual encounter after another with women, he feels empty inside. One day he decides to make a vow, no sex or sexual encounters for forty days. But he’s finding it difficult when all the people at his job begin to bet he’ll either break it or pull through tempting him with hot chicks, plus he’s met a beautiful girl (Shannyn Sassimon) that he’s falling in love with. Something’s got to give.
Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
In the chaotic tradition of “Dr. Strangelove”, the controversial “Buffalo Soldiers” based on the book by Robert O’Connor, is another dark cynical look at the U.S. military in mayhem, chaos, and anarchy while being run by psychotic or incompetent officers is a truly odd and some times far out dark comedy that was shelved due to its massive slurring of the U.S. Military as thought by many, though I prefer to see it as a farce of the U.S. Military. Spawning a stir from audiences, some of which becoming violent and screaming that this film was Un-American, It shows soldiers who are so bored during the period of the cold war they’re resorting to drugs, gambling, and violence to ease their boredom, but this film, while sometimes very intense and extremely odd in the area of the Cohen Brothers is a rather enjoyable yarn that should be watched by anyone who loves dark comedies.