offers a little too much dysfunction and not enough humor for my tastes
Two Weeks (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:5
Rotten:21
Average Rating:4.4/10
Theatrical Release:Dec 1, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: In STEEL MAGNOLIAS, which, like this film, stars Sally Field, one of the characters says, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." Like that tearjerker, TWO WEEKS is a bittersweet film that... In STEEL MAGNOLIAS, which, like this film, stars Sally Field, one of the characters says, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." Like that tearjerker, TWO WEEKS is a bittersweet film that manages to make the audience alternately laugh and cry. Field stars as Anita Bergman, a mother whose impending death from cancer draws her family together. Julianne Nicholson (FLANNEL PAJAMAS) plays her only daughter, Emily, who meets her oldest brother Keith (Ben Chaplin, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS) at the airport with a self-help book in hand. The responsible brother, Barry (Tom Cavanagh, ED), and the baby of the family, Matt (Glenn Howerton, IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA), soon arrive at their mother's bedside as well. With its wonderful cast, smart dialogue, and a genuine approach to grief, TWO WEEKS is a quiet film that deserves more attention than it's likely to get. It's a film that should be seen. It's a shame that Chaplin hasn't had a number of visible roles since THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS; here he holds his own with both Cavanagh and Oscar-winner Fields. After four seasons of ED and multiple guest appearances on SCRUBS, Cavanagh has proven his comedic mettle, and it's rarely been so clear as in this film. An hour and a half spent watching a woman die a painful death hardly seems like a fun time, but sympathetic characters and a large dose of humor make it more than bearable for the audience. [More]
Starring: Sally Field, Ben Chaplin, Clea DuVall, Thomas Cavanagh
Starring: Sally Field, Ben Chaplin, Clea DuVall, Thomas Cavanagh, Julianne Nicholson, James Murtaugh, Michael Hyatt, Jenny O'Hara, Glenn Howerton
Director: Steve Stockman
Director: Steve Stockman
Producer: John Marias
Composer: Heitor Pereira
Studio: MGM
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Reviews for Two Weeks
Field looks appropriately wiped out. Although given how brittle, awkward, and completely uninteresting her younger co stars are, she could just be exasperated -- she's doing all the lifting.
Although quite touching and stitched with black humor, little of what transpires feels like it’s happening to particular people at a particular time in a particular place.
The movie's warm advocacy of hospice, with all the dignity such end-of-life care provides, does real, influential good.
A smoothly directed story that shows without sentiment how life, for better or worse, goes on.
While life is known to stumble across humor at the most inopportune of moments, Stockman's story strains for irreverence at every turn, and the results serve to undercut those potentially more stirring moments.
Writer-director-producer Steve Stockman’s ineffectual shrug of a death-bed dramedy hardly inspires much response one way or the other.
Stockman's attempts to distinguish Two Weeks from the formulaic family drama weepies are largely in vain.
An ineffective would-be tear-jerker that proves the adage 'dying is easy, comedy is hard.'
TWO WEEKS offers some positive views on hospice care and tackles head-on a theme that few American features do, but it lacks the gravitas of something like the European drama THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU.
In his uneven drama Two Weeks, first-time feature director Steve Stockman bravely delves into the ugly realities of dying. Unfortunately, he has no idea where to go from there.
Overall, TV veteran Stockman isn't terribly skillful at meshing comedy and drama.
In the deathbed drama Two Weeks, Sally Field creates an agonizing portrait of a middle-aged American everywoman in the final stages of ovarian cancer.
For all the vomiting and the runny noses, Two Weeks feels a little too cozy to fully pass muster as art.
A sentimental weepie about coping with death that tries to mix laughter and tears but induces only groans.
The humor feels forced -- there's a smug, jokey quality to most of it -- and it rarely cuts deeper than your average sitcom quip.
Attempts at black humor, although not unrealistic during such a trying time, fall flat. Far worse than not laughing at the jokes, you're unlikely to be moved to tears at sad moments.
... the understatement of the awkward family dynamics and complex feelings... has a quiet honesty and unsentimental dignity of its own.
Latest News for Two Weeks
December 05, 2006:
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