Lovely & Amazing (2001)

Fresh off my viewing of her latest offering Please Give (and also taking a break from packing up my mountain of possessions before moving to a new apartment), I was ready for netflix to send me Nicole Holofcener's 2001 film Lovely & Amazing. Jane Marks (Brenda Blethyn) is an aging single mother who decides to undergo liposuction surgery as a way to increase her self-esteem and get back in the dating game. Her oldest daughter Michelle (Catherine Keener) is an unemployed artist having trouble selling her crafts, and suspects her husband (Clark Gregg) of infidelity but doesn't want to lose their young daughter in a separation.

Jane's second daughter Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer) is a struggling actress whose boyfriend doesn't understand her obsession with image, which she believes is crucial to her profession. The youngest is Annie (Raven Goodwin), an eight-year-old whom she adopted several years previously. Annie's experiences as a black girl growing up in a privileged white family have skewed some of her perceptions, and Jane enrolls her in a big sister program so she can form a bond with a black woman. The lives of the sisters intertwine around their mother's operation, co-mingling with relationship problems and various neuroses.


Once again, Holofcener has crafted a female-centric comedy-drama that revolves around character rather than an involved narrative. And once again, it works quite well. The script is inundated with realistic and lightly comedic conversations that help flesh out the frustrated and flawed characters. The story's threads are less cohesive than in her other films I've seen, making it a little uneven in its execution, but generally it works. She explores the setbacks experienced by women in a range of age groups, all connected by their neurotic fixations and concerns about beauty. These themes are dealt with in an unassuming, compassionate way, making the film intriguing even when its characters are making weird decisions.

The acting is of course excellent. Keener shines in her role as the quick-to-smile, quick-to-cuss Michelle, whose own creative and sexual frustrations culminate in an ill-advised and short-lived romance with a goofy-haired Jake Gyllenhaal. She anchors the film as the most dynamic and talkative character. Mortimer is sweet and believable as an up-and-coming actress struggling to be "sexy" and find comfort with her own body, though her fling with Dermot Mulroney is a little gross just because he is a little gross. I liked Blethyn but her character isn't given as much screen time or development as she needed, so she didn't have a lot to do.

While not quite as funny or memorable as Please Give, Lovely & Amazing is still a charming and well-written film that served to further deepen my crush on Catherine Keener.

4/5