She's So Lovely (1997)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Nick Cassavetes

Writer:

John Cassavetes (written by)

Release Date:

27 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The story of one outrageous woman. Caught between two men. Both of them certain of one thing...

Plot:

Maureen is pregnant and her husband Eddie is missing. Nervous, Maureen shares a couple of drinks with neighbor Kiefer...

Plot Keywords:

Madness | Domestic Violence | Psychiatrist | Stepfather | Vulgarity

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Robin Wright Penn	...	Maureen Murphy Quinn
James Gandolfini	...	Kiefer
Susan Traylor	...	Lucinda
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Tony 'Shorty' Russo
Debi Mazar	...	Georgie
Bobby Cooper	...	Cooper
John Marshall Jones	...	Leonard
Chloe Webb	...	Nancy Swearingen
Sean Penn	...	Eddie Quinn
James Soravilla	...	Avi
Jamie Bozian	...	Intern #1 (as James Bozian)
Paul Johansson	...	Intern #2
Justina Machado	...	Carmen Rodriguez - Lady Ticket Taker
Tito Larriva	...	Lead Singer
Tony Marsico	...	Band Member

Also Known As:

Call It Love
She's De Lovely (USA) (working title)
She's So Lovely (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some violence.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #35349) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

The original title of the film was "She's De-Lovely". The estate of Cole Porter asked them to change the title.

Goofs:

Continuity: Joey gets out of his Cadillac holding his car keys, but the car's warning beeper signifies that the keys are still in the ignition.

Quotes:

Jeanie: Hey Daddy, what are you doing?
Joey: Shut up and drink your beer!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in An Actor's Look at John Cassavetes (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Get Up & Get Down

It's that good

Movies that will never have an Oscar do not possess the following: 1. Extensive gripping plot of historical nature, or about a famous personality (read `The English patient,' `Braveheart,' `Titanic,' `Beautiful Mind') 2. Unreal or almost unreal plot twists (read `Lord of the Rings') 3. Clearly morally defined characters (read Billy Zane character in `Titanic;' Mel Gibson's character in any movie he is in). You either love them or hate them. 4. Long viewing time. 5. Sense of the plotline ending at the end of the movie (you pretty much can picture the life of Forrest Gump after the movie end, and you know what's going to happen to Rose from `Titanic', at least key things) The movie `She's so lovely' is a tale of Eddie (Sean Penn), a drunk with a mental problem, and Maureen (Robin Wright Penn), a drunk with lots of other problems. They are in love, he goes to mental institution, she is pregnant, but marries another, Joey (Travolta is for once in a movie he really belongs in, and does a terrific job). Ten years later, Eddie comes out and comes back for Maureen. All of these characters are semi-crazy, semi-abusive, semi-kind, semi-dumb. How can you love someone who hit his wife then tells her he loves her? And how can you not love that same person for being a dad to 3 little girls, one of them not his own? How can you forgive a woman for divorcing her husband while he is sick, and then not sympathize with her when she paid for it by 10 years of being separated from the man she loves? And what to think of a man who comes to take a woman from a family she made without him because he clearly sees her love for him? Penn's performance is as always vulnerable and smart. Wright Penn is the most under-appreciated actress of our time; I still cannot forgive the aforementioned academy for not even nodding her way with her brilliant performance in `Forrest Gump.' These two actors can act with their eyes alone, seems fitting that they are together also in real life.

Having said all that, `She's so Lovely' is clearly not an Oscar material. It's too real. It's too good.