Amour & mensonges

A Southern woman (Julia Roberts) finds out her husband (Dennis Quaid) is cheating on her. This sets off complications that involve her whole family-her fiery sister (Kyra Sedgwick), gruff father (Robert Duvall) and understanding mother (Gena Rowlands).

This plot has been done many times before and there are no real surprises--but it has a good pro-female script. That's no surprise--it was written by Callie Khouri who also wrote "Thelma & Louise". The dialogue is sharp and adult and the stars give it their all.

I've never really been a big fan of Roberts but she is very good here faking a credible Southern accent. She has a GREAT scene when she confronts her club about her husband's infidelity. Sedgwick is just fantastic as her sister--full of fire and having a great time. Surprisingly Rowlands wasn't that good at first--way too muted but she eventually got better and is wonderful in a scene in which she tells off Duvall. Quaid and Duvall are lousy in their roles...but they're given NOTHING to work with--this picture is about the women. The only male character with any depth is Jamie (Brett Cullen)--very handsome, intelligent and caring--a real great performance.

A word of advice--this movie is VERY R rated. There's tons of swearing (especially from Sedgwick) and VERY frank sexual dialogue--it is NOT for the kids (unless it's an edited for TV version). It's an adult movie.

Predictable but well-done. Worth catching.