Never Again

Playing another in her gallery of savvy, acerbic divorced women attempting to date again, Jill Clayburgh effortlessly proves she's still got it. After a blind date goes south, Jill unintentionally winds up in a gay bar with her girlfriends and decides to make a night of it; luckily, exterminator/part-time jazz musician Jeffrey Tambor has also wandered in and the two singles 'meet cute' (he thinks she's a transsexual and tells her he's open to "experimenting", she finds the situation amusing). Clayburgh absolutely nails the love/hate relationship 50-somethings have with getting back into the swing of things (sometimes it's much more enticing to sit home and do nothing). Writer-director Eric Schaeffer loves a good cliché, and he doesn't mind playing up the storybook aspects of this wacky romance, yet some of his writing here is deliciously silly before the film falls into a predictable pattern in its iffy third-act. Tambor, a handsome lug with wonderful comic timing, never allows the bitterness of his character to become off-putting. He's thoughtful and deep (and troubled) but also an old-fashioned romantic at heart, and Clayburgh's salty, sneaky wit brings out the best in him (he's dry, she's wry). A hip, sassy love affair for folks over 40. **1/2 from ****

This movie was a light mix of drama and comedy... what more could you want. There were scenes in the movie that my side hurt from laughing so hard! It's a silly romantic comedy and if you like those I would recommend it.

A romantic farce with complications. The movie loves its over-50 characters yet presents them behaving ridiculously in outrageous situations.

Core to "Never Again" is the perspective and experience of liberated, divorced, over-50 women with sexual relationships. These are presumed and exemplified without being examined. Under 25 women, even the heroine's daughter, show themselves to be inert, callow dolts. Their parents live vivid lives with humor and pain, joy and despair, wit and incredulity, dignity and abnegation. So the generational roles are reversed from the usual teenage romantic comedy; that will keep a lot of viewers away. Additionally, the movie frankly talks and pictures frank abundant and diverse sex, which will keep a lot of over-25 women away.

The movie's topic, two individuals in a romantic relationship, interests woman most, but structurally the movie is presented as symmetrical among the genders, with an early alternation between the lives and concerns of its male and female leads. Further, both have friends who are core to the movie: the other half of a jazz duet in the case of Christopher and two close gabbies for Grace. In the end, though, "women do more of everything," as Christopher's buddy says, and our hero confesses to Grace that "you were right about everything," so we are back to women-centric starting place.

Curiously, the words do not match the deeds portrayed. While Grace complains (and we are supposed to agree) that Christopher has a standard Madonna/whore complex about women, nothing of the sort is pictured. Rather, the relationship starts in sex, and he comes to love and appreciate her fully through what is revealed in sex and develops as part of sex. Again, while Christopher supposedly fears intimacy, no fear is actually shown -- he relishes intimacy and honesty (and has a male friendship exemplifying these) and the under 25 women bore him because they offer neither. Instead, threats to the relationship come from the constraints of social context -- the daughter, the friends, and the social demands to be insincere and superficial. When these press in, Christopher starts having second thoughts.

Claybaugh is outstanding -- I haven't laughed so hard in years as I did at her strap-on scene. What would the part look like performed with less skill and charm? Unpleasant, perhaps. Grace carelessly injures her daughter, her friends, and her boyfriend whenever things don't go exactly her way. The farce, the happy ending, the acting, and the perspective all move attention away from the heroine's actual problems. She is brave, inventive and winsome, and we over-50 males are happy to fall in love with her.

"Never Again" tells of a single middle aged man (Tambor) and woman (Clayburgh) who find each other, have good sex, and then begin to wrestle with issues as they search warily for deeper meaning. The film jerks from the outlandish to the sublime and back again making for an unpredictably bumpy ride while conjuring moments of hilarity and warmth. "Never Again" is another Schaeffer love it or hate it flick which is the work of a creative genius or sexually obsessed hack depending on who you talk to. Given its middle aged focus and explicit sexual content, "Never Again" will play best with more mature audiences who can handle vulgar language, absurd comic relief, and still appreciate the sentimental and poignant moments without rationalization. (B)

Eric Schaeffer's latest film is remarkably funny. It puts two people in a slightly extraordinary predicament and handles them as real people.

Christopher and Grace have both been hurt in relationdhips, are both 54, and neither wants to risk falling in love again. Hence the title. The odd parts come in when each tries to at least find something new, even if it is just sex. It should be noted, this film, while dealing heavily with sex, never becomes even arguably pornagraphic.

The dialogue is so wonderfully intelligent and (need I say again) funny that I found myself quoting lines throughout the trip home! If you are lucky enough to have this play in your area, I completely advise you to see it. I found myself laughing and cheering for characters as well as sighing and sobbing for them. The film's outrageous comedy is great, but the touching moments are so realistic that they also deserve