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Movies / In Theaters / The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

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The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)

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Reviews Counted:64

Fresh:43

Rotten:21

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Reverential and offbeat, the road trip film Private lives of Pippa Lee takes emotional detours and is elevated by great performances, particularly that of Robin Wright-Penn.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sexual content, brief nudity, some drug material and language

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Nov 27, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: From all outward appearances, Pippa Lee (ROBIN WRIGHT PENN) leads a charmed existence. She is the devoted wife of an accomplished publisher (ALAN ARKIN) thirty years her senior, the proud mother of... From all outward appearances, Pippa Lee (ROBIN WRIGHT PENN) leads a charmed existence. She is the devoted wife of an accomplished publisher (ALAN ARKIN) thirty years her senior, the proud mother of two grown children, and a trusted friend and confidant to all who cross her path. But as Pippa dutifully follows her husband to a new life in a staidConnecticut retirement community, her idyllic world and the persona she has built over the course of her marriage will be put to the ultimate test.

In truth, looks are deceiving, and this picture-perfect woman has seen more than her fair share of turmoil in her youth. Embarking on a bittersweet journey of self-discovery, accompanied by a new, strange and soulful acquaintance (KEANU REEVES), Pippa must now confront both her volatile past and the hidden resentment of her seemingly perfect life in order to find her true sense of self.

By turns wry, humorous, and moving, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE presents the complex portrait of the many lives behind a single name.

Golden Globe nominee Robin Wright Penn and Academy Award® winner, Alan Arkin head an all-star cast that includes Blake Lively as the young Pippa Lee, Maria Bello as her mother, Suky Sarkissian, Keanu Reeves as Pippa’s inscrutable neighbor, Chris Nadeau, Monica Bellucci as the socialite Gigi Lee, triple Academy Award® nominee Julianne Moore as the freewheeling Kat, Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe winner Winona Ryder as Pippa’s trusted friend, Sandra Dulles, Mike Binder as novelist Sam Shapiro and rising stars Zoe Kazan and Ryan as Grace and Ben Lee, Pippa’s young adult children.

THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE is adapted from writer-director Rebecca Miller’s novel of the same name. It is produced by Lemore Syvan from Elevation Filmworks, and Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner from Plan B Entertainment. Executive producers are Winchester Capital, Jean-Luc De Fanti, and The Salt Company partners, Cyril Mégret, Robert Bevan and Samantha Horley. --© Screen Media [More]

Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Maria Bello, Monica Bellucci

Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Maria Bello, Monica Bellucci, Blake Lively, Julianne Moore, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Mike Binder

Director: Rebecca Miller

Director: Rebecca Miller
Screenwriter: Rebecca Miller
Studio: Screen Media

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Reviews for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

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An offbeat yet delightful drama.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mail [UK] | comment Comment
07/10/09
Sunday Mail [UK]

It would have been better if Pippa had kept her life private.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
07/10/09
Sun Online

This is not a film about finding easy answers, just brief, often tearful moments of redemption. Miller has performed an impressive emotional balancing act, and one that's often surprisingly funny.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
07/10/09
Daily Mail [UK]

I was interested in the characters and situations, but I was not absorbed.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/30/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
At the Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With the drama swinging from moments of melancholic contemplation to outright hysteria, it's hard to tell if this is supposed to be funny, sad, poignant or glib.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
07/10/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

A midlife crisis unfolds with all the hushed reverence of a visit to an art gallery in The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee, a wry, engaging ensemble piece that feels like a throwback to Seventies films such as A Woman Under The Influence.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
07/10/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

A weak central performance would have sunk this film, but Robin Wright Penn makes it work.

Full Review Source: Filmstar Magazine | comment Comment
08/17/09
Anne Wollenberg
Anne Wollenberg
Filmstar Magazine

It's well-acted, sensitive, and a tad melodramatic in its lurch from one crisis to another, but you'd forgive it a lot more for Wright Penn's magnificent portrait of unaffected goodness.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
07/10/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Unfocused, emotionally hollow and just mildly engaging despite exquisite cinematography and radiant performances by Robin Wright Penn, Blake Lively and Maria Bello.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
11/29/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

Just as The Twilight Saga: New Moon taps into to the sexual yearnings and psychic disturbances of pubescent girls, so does The Private Lives of Pippa Lee for the perimenopausal crowd.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
12/12/09
Beverly Berning
Beverly Berning
culturevulture.net

Pippa Lee is conceived as a portrait of a woman's long-delayed emotional blossoming, but its dopey, privileged-set fantasy winds up as obvious as crawling through Keanu's open window.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
11/22/09
Bill Weber
Bill Weber
Slant Magazine

Wright is the miracle this picture needs, helping the material achieve an emotional tempo it wouldn't otherwise reach without her stellar contribution.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
11/24/09
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

It might be the most purely enjoyable female driven ensemble since Fried Green Tomatoes or A League of Their Own.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/24/09
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Wright gives the title character a complexity and emotional shading often missing in this kind of ensemble comedy/drama.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
11/29/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

"The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" doesn't know whether it's a drama, a comedy, or a random slice-of-life expose. Neither will you.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
11/22/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Perhaps "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" might have been a stronger film had it focused on a single private life instead of a cornucopia of them.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/11/09
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com

It's all very slender stuff and very hard to care about the characters, most of whom whine rather than speak their lines. All in all, it's a life that should have stayed private.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
07/10/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Miller's film is a triumph. Uniformly well acted, it boasts a psychologically knowing script, clearly written by a smart, assertive human being rather than a software programme. As for the luminous Wright Penn, awards season beckons.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
07/10/09
David Gritten
David Gritten
Daily Telegraph

...a solid drama that's consistently elevated by the efforts of the various performers.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/12/09
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee proves that The Ballad of Jack and Rose was no fluke and that Miller can produce work just as good as the best of recent American independent cinema.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
07/10/09
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London
 
 
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