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She's So Lovely

  • 1997
  • R
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
5.9/10
9K
YOUR RATING
John Travolta, Sean Penn, and Robin Wright in She's So Lovely (1997)
Romantic ComedyComedyDramaRomance

After being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.After being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.After being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.

  • Director
    • Nick Cassavetes
  • Writer
    • John Cassavetes
  • Stars
    • Sean Penn
    • Robin Wright
    • John Travolta
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.9/10
    9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Nick Cassavetes
    • Writer
      • John Cassavetes
    • Stars
      • Sean Penn
      • Robin Wright
      • John Travolta
    • 85User reviews
    • 50Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    She's So Lovely
    Trailer 0:31
    She's So Lovely

    Photos13

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    Top cast35

    Edit
    Sean Penn
    Sean Penn
    • Eddie Quinn
    Robin Wright
    Robin Wright
    • Maureen Murphy Quinn
    • (as Robin Wright Penn)
    John Travolta
    John Travolta
    • Joey
    James Gandolfini
    James Gandolfini
    • Kiefer
    Susan Traylor
    Susan Traylor
    • Lucinda
    Harry Dean Stanton
    Harry Dean Stanton
    • Tony 'Shorty' Russo
    Debi Mazar
    Debi Mazar
    • Georgie
    Bobby Cooper
    Bobby Cooper
    • Cooper
    John Marshall Jones
    John Marshall Jones
    • Leonard
    Chloe Webb
    Chloe Webb
    • Nancy Swearingen
    James Soravilla
    • Avi
    Jamie Bozian
    Jamie Bozian
    • Intern #1
    • (as James Bozian)
    Paul Johansson
    Paul Johansson
    • Intern #2
    Justina Machado
    Justina Machado
    • Lady Ticket Taker
    Tito Larriva
    Tito Larriva
    • Lead Singer
    Tony Marsico
    • Band Member
    Ilya Brodsky
    • Taxi Driver
    Burt Young
    Burt Young
    • Lorenzo
    • Director
      • Nick Cassavetes
    • Writer
      • John Cassavetes
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews85

    5.99K
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    Featured reviews

    OBALEENA

    I really appreciated this unique and interesting movie

    I found my initial disturbance of these characters living way too close to the gutter, amazingly moved to an affection and an eyeopening awareness. The deep emotional pains of these characters are obvious, and yet presented in such a tender way, one can bear and become intrigued to look into this side of life and be moved, touched and understand. The result an enriching trip.

    Sean Penn's scenes are always amazing, but there are at least 3 that make the movie worth seeing alone. One scene where he speaks for the first time to his unknown 9year old daughter, one where he speaks of love being SO difficult and one when he has been confined to a straight jacket. This character's portrayal is so beautiful and unforgettable.

    John Travota too portrays an unforgettable character and performance.

    I cant help wondering what was the childhood to produce these people as they are, a young 9year gives a hint.
    7DukeEman

    Just like his old man.

    Nick follows in the footsteps of his old man, John Cassavetes, who supplied the screenplay and you can tell because the down and out characters walk about with cigarette in one hand and a glass of booze in the other. This is a very simple tale of manic love told with care.
    bob the moo

    An unsuccessfully delivered narrative with confused actors and a terrible mix of dark relationship drama and comic moments produces a roundly poor film

    Maureen is a bit strung out and pregnant from her low-life husband Eddie. Their lives are an unpredictable mix of actions that mostly involve drinking and scamming round on the fringe of society. When Eddie is "away" for a few days, Marueen falls in drinking with neighbour Kiefer, who tries to rape her but then just beats her. She explains this away to Eddie so as to keep him from going crazy at her or anyone else but when he does start to flip she calls the paramedics to take him into care for his own safety. However when he shoots one of them, Eddie is sentenced to a mental institution. When he comes out he finds that Maureen has divorced him and has moved onto a much more stable and reliable man in the form of Joey, with whom she has had more children.

    Almost halfway in it becomes evident that this film isn't going to work out that well because, before the "10 years later" jump, the love between the two leads hasn't been established to a convincing degree. Given that the narrative is using this mutual attraction (despite all the negatives) as its lynchpin this is a bit of a problem. Other than establishing that both are unstable and using each other for meaning, the film doesn't do that much for all the time it takes up. The second half isn't that much better as Eddie comes out as a sort of watered down Rainman and disrupts Maureen's new relationship with Joey. The script then asks us to swallow that she still loves Eddie to the point where the mere news that he is released sees her flush the last ten years down the toilet.

    I can sort of understand what the script was trying to do but it didn't manage to produce anything interest in the aggressive relationships that it paints in the gutter. The characters are where the main failing is. Maureen's character is poorly defined and Wright-Penn doesn't appear to understand what motivates her character and thus turns in a really mixed performance that pushes emotional buttons in each scene but is never consistent. Eddie is OK in the first half of the film as he just seems like a drunk unstable loser but in the second half he is unconvincingly soft. Likewise Penn is strong in the first half but he is unconvincing in the second. Their performances aren't helped by a weird mix of tones – at times a dark love story, at other times a cringingly awful "comedy" complete with "jaunty" music being played over a fight on the front lawn or that horrible scene at Joey's bar. Travolta is a bit better and Stanton is a reasonably nice addition in a small role.

    Overall this is a shocking mess of a film that spirals downhill from the mid-point onwards. The first half shows potential but doesn't manage to pull off the formative stages of the central relationship and thus fails to set up the second half. However the second half isn't helped by poor development and a terrible mishmash of "comic" moments that simply feel crass and out of place – I suspect even if the first half had been a stormer, this second half would have been poor enough to drag it all under. Even the acting talent seems all at sea and unsure of where they stand or who they are. A load of rubbish with little or no value.
    dukemantee

    Disappointing posthumous John Cassavetes endeavor

    The beginning credits were difficult for me to read, thus I was not cognizant of the writer or director. Sometime into the film, I pondered the striking resemblance of numerous scenes to the work of John Cassavetes. Later, I impressed myself with the discovery of his name on the video package. Cassavetes wrote and directed some excellent cinema, but this film is more akin to his dismal "Big Trouble". The script is fragmentary and lacked character motivation. The story introduces Penn and Wright as urban lovers, then suddenly switches pace when Penn has a mental episode and is institutionalized. Resuming ten years later, Penn is released only to find Wright married to another loser. As her husband, Travolta reminded me of his "Pulp Fiction" character constantly cursing and chain smoking. Unfortunately, the scenes between Penn and him are flat. I don't understand Travolta's emotional reactions to his unrealistic predicament, while Penn remains mentally incapacitated like De Niro in "The Awakenings". Wright is fine, but her role is ill-defined. It was good to see Harry Stanton with a sizable part, and Debi Mazar is alluring with her Betty Page looks. I would recommend skipping this film and seeing "Husbands", "Faces", or "A Woman under the Influence". 2 out of 4 stars.
    sanya

    It avoids Hollywood cliches quite successfully

    I think this is a good movie. The characters are fresh enough, the plot avoids Hollywood cliches quite successfully. The movie says that crazy people have the right to love, too, and it shows how they realize this right. It is another answer to the questions: what is love and do love and morality have a lot in common. The weakest point is the ending scene. First, it made me feel that something needs to be added - a cue, a situation, anything - and, second, it resembles "The Graduate" too much. The last scenes of the "10 years ago" part are very good, Nick and Sean!

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    Related interests

    Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
    Romantic Comedy
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John Cassavetes was going to direct the film in the 1980s with Sean Penn in the lead, but the project could not be completed before the elder Cassavetes died.
    • Goofs
      Joey gets out of his Cadillac holding his car keys, but the car's warning beeper signifies that the keys are still in the ignition.
    • Quotes

      Shorty: [Joey draws a pistol] Joey, it's not that kind of an evening.

    • Alternate versions
      The film was released straight to video in Holland. This version has no strong language whatsoever. Every swearword etc. has been badly replaced with milder versions, probably not by the actors themselves.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Leave It to Beaver/Money Talks/Mimic/Masterminds/Gabbeh (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      It's Oh So Quiet
      Performed by Björk (as Bjork)

      Written by Hans Lang & Bert Reisfeld

      Published by Southern Music Publishing Company, Inc.

      Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment/One Little Indian

      By arrangement with Warner Special Products

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 29, 1997 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Miramax
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • She's De Lovely
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • Clyde Is Hungry Productions
      • Sheen/Michaels Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $18,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,281,450
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,020,015
      • Sep 1, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,281,450
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 40m(100 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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