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Lovely & Amazing (2002)

85 ^%

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Reviews Counted:113

Fresh:96

Rotten:17

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: The bitingly truthful Lovely & Amazing is a smart and perceptive female character study.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and nudity

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Jun 28, 2002 Limited

Box Office: $4,186,931

Synopsis: Academy-Award nominated actresses Catherine Keener ("Being John Malkovich") and Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets & Lies") star in Nicole Holofcener's follow-up feature to her critically acclaimed debut...

Academy-Award nominated actresses Catherine Keener ("Being John Malkovich") and Brenda Blethyn ("Secrets & Lies") star in Nicole Holofcener's follow-up feature to her critically acclaimed debut "Walking and Talking." A finely observed comedy, LOVELY & AMAZING is an intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women and the bittersweet lessons they learn in keeping up with the hectic demands of their individual neuroses. Jane Marks (Blethyn) is the matriarch of a confused trio of daughters that seems to have nothing in common, except for a peculiar sort of idealism -- a heady brew of vanity, insecurity and humor. Former homecoming queen Michelle (Keener), the eldest daughter, is in a loveless marriage with a spouse who does not appreciate her decidedly obscure artistic endeavors. Younger sister Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer), an insecure actress whose career is beginning to take off, compulsively takes home stray dogs, saving them whether or not they need to be saved.

Only the youngest sister, Annie, an adopted African American eight-year old, seems to stand a chance at rising above the family's legacy. But on the threshold of what promises to be a confusing adolescence, Annie has developed a preoccupation with her appearance -- natural enough for a pre-teen-- but given her adoptive family's history, quite possibly a hint of what's to come.

Each of the women seeks redemption in her own haphazard way, but whatever salvation they find is illusory and shortlived. [More]

Starring: Catherine Keener, Jake Gyllenhaal, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer

Director: Nicole Holofcener

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Release:

Nov 26, 2002

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Reviews for Lovely & Amazing

1 - 20 (sorted by date)

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Reviews
Tomatometer	Critic	Review	Category
4.5/5	Blake French	Seldom do movies create focus through spontaneity, but Lovely & Amazing feeds on surprise Full Review \| Comment \| Aug., 02 2009 06:14 PM	Filmcritic.com
N/R	Felix Vasquez Jr.	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Apr., 29 2009 03:16 AM	Cinema Crazed
3/5	Mark Halverson	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Aug., 07 2008 03:17 AM	Sacramento News & Review
3.5/4	Joe Lozito	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Jul., 14 2007 06:27 AM	Big Picture Big Sound
2/4	Ross Anthony	Has a lovely feel, interactions that are real & unafraid to broach life's insecurities -- ie: personal appearance from hair to body fat. However, doesn't add up to amazing. Full Review \| Comment \| Apr., 23 2007 02:41 PM	Hollywood Report Card
4/5		Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 30 2006 08:35 AM	Empire Magazine
N/R	Geoff Andrew	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Feb., 09 2006 03:16 AM	Time Out
6/10	Tony Medley	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Oct., 07 2004 07:29 PM	tonymedley.com
3/4	Judith Egerton	Captures the body-image insecurities of women while delving more than skin-deep into her characters' psyches. Full Review \| Comment \| Jun., 25 2004 08:39 AM	Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
	Rob Nelson	As in Walking and Talking, her comic lament on the evils that brides do to their maids of honor, [Nicole] Holofcener strikes a careful balance between distaff divertissement and stark, semiautobiographical realism. Full Review \| Comment \| May., 19 2004 08:15 AM	City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
71/100	Jamie Gillies	Not long enough to be a �message movie�, but insightful enough to hold our attention while exploring the lives of these characters. Full Review \| Comment \| Mar., 02 2004 09:58 AM	Apollo Guide
2.5/4	Michael Dequina	Click to read review Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 12 2004 12:23 AM	TheMovieReport.com
N/R	Alexander Walker	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 15 2003 05:07 PM	This is London
N/R	Christopher Tookey	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 15 2003 05:07 PM	Daily Mail [UK]
N/R	Wilson Morales	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| May., 13 2003 05:06 PM	BlackFilm.com
3/5	Harry Guerin	After this, you'd like to think that the studios might let Holofcener turn her attention to a few more US TV shows. They need talents like her. Full Review \| Comment \| Mar., 26 2003 05:38 AM	RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
3/4	Mark Dujsik	A refreshing reminder that not every movie about women must be a hollow, empty, self-indulgent 'chick flick.' Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 28 2003 06:08 PM	Mark Reviews Movies
4/4	Steven Snyder	"Lovely and Amazing is a story about real people. These people are insecure about their lives. They aren�t convinced that there�s some inner beauty about them. They see themselves as I suspect most people do, mostly for the flaws. However, these are still Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 10 2003 12:49 PM	Zertinet Movies
B	Nick Davis	Click to read the article Full Review \| Comment \| Jan., 10 2003 08:13 AM	Nick's Flick Picks
C+	Robert Roten	Another one of those estrogen overdose movies like "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," except that the writing, acting and character development are a lot better. Full Review \| Comment \| Dec., 16 2002 01:27 PM	Laramie Movie Scope

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Lovely & Amazing (2002)

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