I liked "Lovely & Amazing" more the second time. I'm more used to Nicole Holofcener's style. Her movies have been accused of being formulaic, which surprised me at first because they are not plot driven, and usually the adjective "formulaic" refers to Hollywood movies and their identikit plots. Now I can see that they kind of are formulaic, in that they're pretty much all gentle indie comedy-dramas that let us inhabit the lives of different women and the people they know.
They're always about women basically trying to do their best in the various situations life throws at them. There are details I like, such as the mother of the two having an adopted black daughter, which her daughters suspect she only took on because she was lonely. And even better, the daughter is not made out to be the typical adorable child you typically see in films. Instead, she's not even all that likeable, and typically for Holofcener, there are unexpected developments with her character and a black woman who wanted to be her big sister, but was disappointed she wasn't poor.
Imperfections. That's what these characters have, just as real people do. But this isn't a Todd Solondz movie, it's a Nicole Holofcener one, and because of that, the movie radiates love for its characters.
Holofcener's movies feel cozy and lived in. They're like retreats on the mountain of life.
They're always about women basically trying to do their best in the various situations life throws at them. There are details I like, such as the mother of the two having an adopted black daughter, which her daughters suspect she only took on because she was lonely. And even better, the daughter is not made out to be the typical adorable child you typically see in films. Instead, she's not even all that likeable, and typically for Holofcener, there are unexpected developments with her character and a black woman who wanted to be her big sister, but was disappointed she wasn't poor.
Imperfections. That's what these characters have, just as real people do. But this isn't a Todd Solondz movie, it's a Nicole Holofcener one, and because of that, the movie radiates love for its characters.
Holofcener's movies feel cozy and lived in. They're like retreats on the mountain of life.