D'une vie à l'autre

Holly Hunter, sexy and unafraid of a tight close-up at age 40, as the left-behind wife who reclaims at least parts of herself after divorcing her meathead cardiologist husband (Martin Donovan).

Danny DeVito as an also-divorced sweet soul, delivering a believably vulnerable love interest.

And Queen Latifah, injecting pure spunk and (rap-free)jazz vocals.

Rare, extended scenes, with two people just sitting and talking, thanks to Richard LaGravenese's script (with help from Anton Chekov's short stories).

And finally, an even rarer ending, where every character is NOT ushered off screen into a neatly-wrapped-happy-ending sunset.