I really enjoyed this movie. You could call this a "slice-of-life" movie, the kind of movie that I usually hate, so why did this one work?
Reason one: Great stars. The three leads, Jeff Goldblum, Forest Whitaker, and Kathy Baker are three of my favorites. I've seen Jeff and Forest mis-cast in some bad movies, so it does my heart good to see them in roles where they seem to slip into their characters so easily. Forest's earlier experience in Clint Eastwood's Bird (a movie I did not enjoy) may have been useful here. The shots of Goldblum playing the sax made it look like he was really playing it. Kathy Baker can do it all. Her natural sweetness comes through in every performance. The script was probably written with younger actors in mind, and would have worked better, but Goldblum here at 41 and Baker at 43, manage to convince us they are a thirty-something Bohemian couple still working out their life plan.
Reason two: Great supporting cast. Don Cheadle and Lois Chiles head a supporting cast where all the performances are spot-on.
Reason three: Great music.
Reason four: good dialog.
This is a low-key, warm and fuzzy movie you don't have to think too hard about.
