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Movies / On DVD / Ira & Abby
Ira & Abby

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Ira & Abby (2007)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:28

Rotten:13

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Ira & Abby overcomes the somewhat clichéd plot with witty dialogue and earnest performances.

Rated: R

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Sep 14, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: Ira Black, 33, is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish and has so many issues he can't fit them into 12 years of analysis. He can't finish his dissertation, he can't commit to his longtime girlfriend, and... Ira Black, 33, is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish and has so many issues he can't fit them into 12 years of analysis. He can't finish his dissertation, he can't commit to his longtime girlfriend, and he's incapable of making a decision, even if it's just what to order at the diner. Abby Willoughby, 30, is a free spirit who's better at solving her friends' problems at the gym than selling memberships. When the two meet, the impossible happens: they fall in love, meet each other's parents and decide to get married, all in a few breathless hours. And life is good, until Ira finds out that Abby is a divorcee... two times over. Despite even more therapy, Ira can't help but feel that their marriage was built on a lie. They divorce quietly, while cracks grow wider in their parents' marriages. Ira's gorgeous analyst mother Arlene starts a secret liaison with Abby's charming voiceover artist father Michael, while Abby's mother Lynne wonders why she's no longer attractive to her husband and Ira's father Sy pretends not to notice. Of course, Ira soon realizes he's miserable without Abby. He asks her forgiveness and they marry again, this time making more realistic vows. But Ira's jealousy issues and Abby's free-floating tendencies lead him to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. When Abby finds out about their parents' infidelities, the three couples converge for a hilarious group therapy scene with the eight therapists we have met in the film. Ira and Abby ultimately realize that they were meant to be together. But divorced. Because marriage just isn't for them... Ira & Abby was written by Jennifer Westfeldt, who co-wrote, co-produced and played the title role in the indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein. Westfeldt, a 2004 Tony nominee for her turn in the Broadway revival of Wonderful Town, stars as Abby, while the charming up and comer, Chris Messina (most recently seen as "Ted" on the final season of HBO's Six Feet Under) stars as Ira. Fred Willard, known for such films as Anchorman, A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show, and for his Emmy-nominated turn on Everybody Loves Raymond, co-stars as Michael, and Golden Globe winner and multiple Emmy nominee Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) plays Abby's mother Lynne. The well-known comedian/actor Robert Klein (Two Weeks' Notice, How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days), co-stars as Ira's father, Sy, and Judith Light, best known as the star of the long-running sitcom Who's The Boss? will play the role of Arlene. -- © Official Site [More]

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Frances Conroy, Judith Light

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, Jason Alexander, Chris Parnell, Darrell Hammond

Director: Robert Carey

Director: Robert Carey
Screenwriter: Jennifer Westfeldt
Producer: Brad Zions
Composer: Marcelo Zavros
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

Jan 29, 2008

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Reviews for Ira & Abby

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An odd love poem for cynics who have thrown sentimentality into the garbage.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
02/22/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Robert Carey directs his cast with zest and the film plays its laughs with a sense of gentle sardonic smirk that makes it inoffensive yet tart.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/21/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Ira & Abby may drive you into therapy, but you'll be chuckling all the way.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
02/03/08
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
Washington Times

The steady addition of more and more characters served to fragment what could have been a charming romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/03/08
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
01/26/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

"Ira & Abby" doesn't throw out the romantic comedy rule book, but it occasionally shuffles the pages a little for comic effect.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
12/07/07
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/24/07
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In the season that has seen such loathsome films as Good Luck Chuck and The Heartbreak Kid, Ira & Abby is remarkable proof that a compelling and funny love story can appear on celluloid.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
10/26/07
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

On paper, Ira and Abby sounds like a sitcom (in fact, it sounds like Dharma & Greg). But intelligence and fine acting shoves it up several notches.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/19/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It spends so much time reminding of how quaint and kooky it is throughout that you may find yourself pulling out your wallet or purse and offering it some of your hard-earned money if it will agree to just simmer down and go away

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/18/07
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

The movie benefits from an exceptionally strong line-up of supporting characters beautifully played by a top-notch cast.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/18/07
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ira & Abby has plenty of sharp details, mostly verbal, and it gives old pros and newer faces a chance to show off their poker-faced comic wiles.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
10/18/07
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ira & Abby is like its characters: nice with a lot of problems.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/12/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ira & Abby is a charming film, but it's nearly great when it settles down and causally explores life's often strange complications.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/11/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

It's sunny, oh-so-New-York and ever-so cute, and Messina and Westfeldt, under-used actors, are equally beguiling.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/11/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

The group-therapy scene that wraps it up brings those substantial themes together in a way that’s uproariously funny.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
10/11/07
Jason Ferguson
Jason Ferguson
Orlando Weekly

The result is light but surprisingly fresh, and even a bit insightful.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
10/10/07
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

Offers some smiles and rueful insights about the vicissitudes of love, but its almost slavish imitation of the Woody Allen formula ultimately makes it seem stale.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/07/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Ira & Abby, in its breezy, low-key way, will make audiences happy -- something [director] Westfeldt already knows how to do.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/05/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

A mixed bag with a lot of cutesy awfulness to wade through, but the acerbic ending is enough of a punchline to suggest that Westfeldt understands what a joke this kind of film can be.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
10/05/07
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
AV Club
 
 
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Latest News for Ira & Abby

September 13, 2007: Critical Consensus: Brave One Isn't Tops, Mr. Woodcock is Flaccid, Hunting Party is Busted
This week at the movies, we've got vigilantes (The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster), gym teachers (Mr. Woodcock starring Billy Bob Thornton and Susan Sarandon), war... More...

August 22, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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July 27, 2007: Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible. Opens in new window
More...

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