FuzzyTagz
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
TaryBiggBall
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
SanEat
A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Amy Adler
As the film opens, Jamie (Marguerite Moreau) is listening, over time, to "dumping" messages left on her answering machine by men. The romances are over, these cads tell her, for a variety of tired and true reasons, everything from returning to former girlfriends/wives to not being ready for seriousness. It is surprising, because Jamie is young, beautiful, intelligent and gifted in the bedroom. Ah, but that's the caveat, it seems, for Jamie is, to ask her sister (Emily Deschanel) or her father (John Rothman) too easy, falling for men on the first date. Jamie finds relief with acupuncture treatments and in her job naming minor products, like new cleaning sprays. She also seeks refuge at her favorite book store, where she often hears the talks of famous authors. At one such event , poet John (Naveen Andrews), an incredibly handsome and smooth-speaking man, accepts Jamie's obvious advances for a date. As he seems to say everything she wants to hear, Jamie finds herself, once again, in bed very quickly. Soon after, John goes hot and cold, giving evidence that he, too, is not ready to be part of a loving couple. In the meantime, Jamie has met a local television celebrity, Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne) at a medical office and the two become fast friends. The TV man is there to comfort her when Jamie gets grief from John. But, could it grow into something else, despite the fact that Jamie finally declares a projected celibacy of six months or more? This is truly and excellent film on the difficult nature of relationships in the modern era. Women, especially, walk a precarious tightrope in the dating game, where men say all the right things, seduce their quarries, and then take off, never to be seen again. Yes, as this fine film shows, females can fall into this trap too easily and must learn to practice more restraint, even if a handsome guy gets away. As the main star, Moreau is utterly fantastic, being both beautiful and touching. Andrews, one of the stars of the English Patient, makes a great cad while O'Byrne's good-guy turn is quite nice. The rest of the cast is likewise fine. The settings, costumes, photography, remarkable script and solid direction complete this film's journey to greatness. Too bad that its really not for the under-18 crowd, for it would be make an excellent springboard for mothers and daughters to discuss the perils of finding Mr. Right. That said, fans of romantic drama will truly welcome this movie as a dynamic, "thinking-woman's" jewel.
peterchristopher
I saw this with some friends at the Nantucket Film Festival in June 2004 and we all loved it. This is a romantic comedy that even guys will like. One thing that really struck me is that the script was totally unpredictable without seeming contrived. It also conveyed a feeling of raw realism that was particularly well conveyed by Margeurite Moreau and Brian F. O'Byrne. There are some fairly graphic sex scenes in the second half of the film that contribute to this realism as well that are shocking but not gratuitous.My only regret with this film is that it does not seem to have found a distributor for either a theatrical release or a DVD release. My fingers are still crossed!
nhpbob
As someone who works at the Sundance Film Festival as a volunteer assistant manager/crowd control, I have seen many films in my 7 years there. But this film, which showed in January of this year, 2004, was selected as a special film to show to volunteers the same night as Opening Night. What a good choice.The indie world's version of a romantic comedy/drama (meaning, its not predictable, it's very realistic, and it STILL entertains), "EASY" is a film that should please most audiences who watch it, primarily the female movielover. This film, to my male eyes, accurately shows what a sexually active, yet celibacy-curious, young woman's life can be like, especially when she meets two men who are right for her, though at slightly different times. (Hollywood would have her meet them the same day....though she almost does here. One of them happens to host a local TV show that she watches at home.)The beauty here, and what i won't spoil, is you don't know which guy she will end up with. (There's absolutely no guarantee that she'll end up with anyone, period.) Actually, "the beauty here" is the lead character, played by the I-dare-you-to-not-fall-for-her Marguerite Moreau. Reminding me of Barbara Hershey in her 20s, Ms. Moreau holds the film together like Super Glue, and deserves credit for being an actress who, in these slightly prudish times, allows herself to be realistically filmed during sexual moments. Adding to the film's cohesiveness are the performances by the other actors, including Emily Deschanel, Zooey's equally talented sister, and the two guys played by Naveen Andrews and Brian F. O'Byrne.Writer/director Jane Weinstock probably deserves some of that credit, as an actor can only do something truthfully, if he or she feels there's someone they can trust behind the camera. It's a film that made me bemoan my current non-existant love life, as it shows the fun and the messiness inherent with strong sexual relationship. This is not a heavy film, by any means. It's as if the DNA of Nora Ephron was spliced with John Cassavetes. And on top of the expert storytelling...is the great soundtrack by Grant Lee Phillips. Not only are some of his past songs from his solo albums used (where I nodded my head during one lovely red-tinged sex scene, aware that a song that i already loved, was being used PERFECTLY), but he also supplied the score throughout.Enough gushing. Someone take this film, and give it to the movie-dating Saturday night crowd. (As far as I know, it's still looking for a distributor.) Watch more heads start to nod, as the music and images and acting and writing/directing all gel together to make an "EASY" winner.
whiskeymittens
EASY is not a "chick flick" (though women will definitely identify with the main character) and is not your standard Hollywood romantic comedy. EASY is the film all those Hugh Grant movies aspire to be - smart, funny, sexy, appealing to both sexes, not smug and patronizing.Jaime (Marguerite Moreau) dates a lot of jerks and it never works out. She's beautiful, interesting, neurotic, and dates in all the wrong ways. Any 20-40-something woman who didn't grow up in a convent will smile and cringe as she identifies with Jaime's struggle to figure out who she is, what she wants and how to get it. She seems to take one step forward and two steps back with her family and friends getting all tangled up in the story (in brilliantly funny ways).This movie isn't spoon-fed to it's audience with all the glossiness of Hollywood. The sex scenes feel real, with no soundtrack crescendo at the climax (or anti-climax); the characters are sympathetic and interesting; I especially liked Brian F. O'Byrne's performance. Weinstock showed playfulness in writing the overlapping relationships with a tongue-in-cheek humor, ala Shakespeare or modern British comedy.EASY is a funny, emotional, sexy movie for thinking adults, not the lobotomized masses that can't get enough close-ups of Julia Roberts' smile or Meg Ryan's smirk. It's smarter than other films about contemporary relationships. It's also better acted.Finally: If you don't fall in love with Marguerite Moreau after seeing this film, you're made of stone.
