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Walking and Talking
(directed by Nicole Holofcener, 1996)
Walking and Talking is 1990's indie film gold starring Catherine Keener as Amelia, a woman who's going through a semi-jarring period in her young, romantic life. Her lifelong best friend, Laura (Anne Heche) is getting married to Frank (Todd Field), a costume jewelry designer; her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend Andrew (Liev Schreiber) is obsessed with watching pornographic movies and having phone sex with a strange woman in California called Virginia; she's also dating an ugly, geeky guy who has a passion for horror movies and special effects makeup that works at the local video store. Oh, and did I mention that her 14 year old cat gets diagnosed with brain cancer?
Catherine Keener shines like she's never shined before (at least, as far as I know) in Walking and Talking. She plays one of those lonely, needy best friend types, the ones that call you all the time, tell you everything that's on their mind, has a pet for a companion and is always looking for love but can't find it. Meanwhile, her best friend has got it all, and of course, isn't very appreciative of it. Anne Heche's character, Laura, is a therapist that's finding herself attracted to other men, including a sexy patient, despite having a man already -- although, what is the story with her man, anyway? Could he possibly be gay or maybe inflicted with a disease? You'll have to watch and see, but what I can tell you is that Anne Heche's character is a complete bitch. I thought she needed a good slap to the face or two. She's not being very nice to her fiancée. She acts like a goofy teenager who can't control herself at times. But I wouldn't say Anne Heche's character is a total loss - I didn't hate her - but she needs more than a hilarious, horrible beauty makeover, which she does receive at one point.
The most delightful character is Andrew, played by Liev Schreiber in his early career days when he was an indie film regular. He and Catherine Keener have good chemistry together and he even tries on some sexy tight black pants for her while going shirtless. Adorable, hairy and curly haired, Andrew lights up many scenes discussing his father, who has Alzheimer's, or just by letting us know that he's only a phone call away, provided he's not already on the line masturbating to women he's never met. Now, going back to chemistry, I didn't think Catherine Keener and Anne Heche really had much going on with each other. Separately, they seemed alright, but unless it was just the script's fault, these two didn't have much going for them in scenes where they were alone together.
The movie focuses and puts its heart most of all where Catherine Keener's Amelia character is going in life, especially romantically. She has had a lot of boyfriends, but nobody's been as close to her as Andrew, it seems. When she starts dating The Ugly Guy at the video store (Kevin Corrigan, Pineapple Express and other movies), all is going well, although it seems like Amelia's in an odd place with him -- he takes her to some kind of horror movie convention that's filled with prowling geeks. Trouble brews, though, when Laura telephones Amelia at her house during date night and The Ugly Guy hears Laura saying over the answering machine, "How's your date with the guy you call The Ugly Guy?" Amelia, who's out of the room during this moment, has no idea what's happened and why The Ugly Guy is suddenly distancing himself from her.
I will not reveal how it ends, although I will say that it sort of confused me. After the journey we've been on with Amelia, while also seeing what's going on in Laura's life, it didn't exactly seem right to me that the movie would end on a note saying this was more of a best friend movie between Amelia and Laura. I thought that Amelia's role definitely had more weight and frankly, I just wasn't really in love with Laura by the end of this movie. Catherine Keener shined here -- Anne Heche needed shoe polish. Hopefully, she won't eat it, though, or she'll be back in the mental hospital. Her character, Laura, was a poophead.
However, the mysteries of Anne Heche will have to be saved for another day, including why she dated Ellen and why she's always got decent men attracted to her - although, I have no idea where she's at these days. This is a movie to be watched for Catherine Keener and Liev Schreiber. This is a feel good movie about young adults who've dealt with each other for awhile. I liked it a lot and I recommend it.
(directed by Nicole Holofcener, 1996)
Walking and Talking is 1990's indie film gold starring Catherine Keener as Amelia, a woman who's going through a semi-jarring period in her young, romantic life. Her lifelong best friend, Laura (Anne Heche) is getting married to Frank (Todd Field), a costume jewelry designer; her ex-boyfriend-turned-friend Andrew (Liev Schreiber) is obsessed with watching pornographic movies and having phone sex with a strange woman in California called Virginia; she's also dating an ugly, geeky guy who has a passion for horror movies and special effects makeup that works at the local video store. Oh, and did I mention that her 14 year old cat gets diagnosed with brain cancer?
Catherine Keener shines like she's never shined before (at least, as far as I know) in Walking and Talking. She plays one of those lonely, needy best friend types, the ones that call you all the time, tell you everything that's on their mind, has a pet for a companion and is always looking for love but can't find it. Meanwhile, her best friend has got it all, and of course, isn't very appreciative of it. Anne Heche's character, Laura, is a therapist that's finding herself attracted to other men, including a sexy patient, despite having a man already -- although, what is the story with her man, anyway? Could he possibly be gay or maybe inflicted with a disease? You'll have to watch and see, but what I can tell you is that Anne Heche's character is a complete bitch. I thought she needed a good slap to the face or two. She's not being very nice to her fiancée. She acts like a goofy teenager who can't control herself at times. But I wouldn't say Anne Heche's character is a total loss - I didn't hate her - but she needs more than a hilarious, horrible beauty makeover, which she does receive at one point.
The most delightful character is Andrew, played by Liev Schreiber in his early career days when he was an indie film regular. He and Catherine Keener have good chemistry together and he even tries on some sexy tight black pants for her while going shirtless. Adorable, hairy and curly haired, Andrew lights up many scenes discussing his father, who has Alzheimer's, or just by letting us know that he's only a phone call away, provided he's not already on the line masturbating to women he's never met. Now, going back to chemistry, I didn't think Catherine Keener and Anne Heche really had much going on with each other. Separately, they seemed alright, but unless it was just the script's fault, these two didn't have much going for them in scenes where they were alone together.
The movie focuses and puts its heart most of all where Catherine Keener's Amelia character is going in life, especially romantically. She has had a lot of boyfriends, but nobody's been as close to her as Andrew, it seems. When she starts dating The Ugly Guy at the video store (Kevin Corrigan, Pineapple Express and other movies), all is going well, although it seems like Amelia's in an odd place with him -- he takes her to some kind of horror movie convention that's filled with prowling geeks. Trouble brews, though, when Laura telephones Amelia at her house during date night and The Ugly Guy hears Laura saying over the answering machine, "How's your date with the guy you call The Ugly Guy?" Amelia, who's out of the room during this moment, has no idea what's happened and why The Ugly Guy is suddenly distancing himself from her.
I will not reveal how it ends, although I will say that it sort of confused me. After the journey we've been on with Amelia, while also seeing what's going on in Laura's life, it didn't exactly seem right to me that the movie would end on a note saying this was more of a best friend movie between Amelia and Laura. I thought that Amelia's role definitely had more weight and frankly, I just wasn't really in love with Laura by the end of this movie. Catherine Keener shined here -- Anne Heche needed shoe polish. Hopefully, she won't eat it, though, or she'll be back in the mental hospital. Her character, Laura, was a poophead.
However, the mysteries of Anne Heche will have to be saved for another day, including why she dated Ellen and why she's always got decent men attracted to her - although, I have no idea where she's at these days. This is a movie to be watched for Catherine Keener and Liev Schreiber. This is a feel good movie about young adults who've dealt with each other for awhile. I liked it a lot and I recommend it.