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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:10

Fresh:6

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6/10

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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Awkward in ways both intended and not.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
12/04/09
Liam Lacey
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Miller has created a witty satire about society and relationships that is both funny and heartbreaking, delivered by a first-rate cast.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
12/04/09
Linda Barnard
Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I think there’s something going on here that does feel novelistic, but it feels to me a little like real life. I think Penn makes it worth seeing.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/30/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
At the Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Miller never really fleshes out all of these colorful characters in her emotionally facile script, leaving the heavy lifting to the actors. Fortunately for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Wright is more than up to the challenge.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/29/09
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pippa should be a career changer. Wright Penn's cards are finally on the table, and it looks like a full house.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
11/29/09
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pippa's crisis of guilt -- about troubled lives she couldn't fix and parts of her personality she rashly abandoned -- is ultimately swamped by Miller's own sketchy grasp of what's funny or heartbreaking or illuminating about her characters.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/29/09
Robert Abele
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[It announces] that a very good actress is back and ready to start a new and interesting life of her own.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
11/29/09
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In this densely populated ensemble piece, Reeves stands out as the only actor whose damaged character evokes sympathy and avoids cliché.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/25/09
Melissa Anderson
Melissa Anderson
Village Voice
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