WORDS: Eva Short
A lot of people will be attracted to and intrigued by Nicole Holofcener’s recent romantic comedy, Enough Said, because it is one of the last films that actor James Gandolfini appeared in before his untimely passing in June. Fans will not be disappointed by the performance of the Sopranos star; Gandolfini delivers a subtle yet masterful performance that was typical of his stunning career. However, there is still an entire movie surrounding this one performance. So if the question is whether Enough Said as a whole is worth putting down your hard-earned cash to see, the answer isn’t as simple.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays single mom and masseuse Eva, a clearly flawed individual who, from the film’s outset, makes fundamental errors in how she deals with other people. She’s about to reach a point where she has given up on finding love after her divorce ten years prior when Albert (Gandolfini), a fellow single parent, enters her life. The two embark on a relationship that goes well until life throws them a curveball; in a barely plausible coincidence, a massage client that Eva has begun to befriend is revealed to be Albert’s ex-wife. Eva then finds herself caught between her own impression of Albert and the derogatory comments his ex-wife makes about him. The premise is not only dubious, but very predictable, which renders the plot’s eventual denouement deeply underwhelming.
On a larger scale, it could be said that this film is an insightful examination of the Southern Californian upper-middle class. The host of dysfunctional and deeply imperfect characters clearly demonstrate that maturity doesn’t necessarily come with age. A manicured lawn and a Santa Monica three-bedroom house do not an adult make, and none of the adults in Enough Said could be described as “together”. No fault can be named of the film’s acting — then again, given the cast (which includes Toni Collette among the supporting cast), a certain quality is to be expected as standard.
Enough Said employs an understated brand of humour that often teeters on the edge of being unfunny. Louis-Dreyfus’s Eva acts as if she has never shaken her adolescent awkwardness, and it’s endearing, if not a little bizarre to see in someone her age. Gandolfini and Dreyfus have a sweet chemistry between them; they’re two people injured by past experience, trying to shake the shock and pain of their old heartaches and open themselves up to each other.
Enough Said is a lightweight, charming and well-made feature that may even brighten these dull Autumn days, albeit briefly.
