Easy

This is the standard plot of "Which guy should should the girl choose?" The choices are: the correct choice, or the other guy. I won't spoil it for you. Even though the ending is predictable, I didn't care. I was just hoping she'd make her decision quickly so the movie would end. At least it's a short movie, something like 90 minutes.

If you're going to use a tired plot, you need to do better than this. Some folks might like the gratuitous sex scenes; they did help pass the time but not to the point where it made Easy entertaining. There are plenty of romantic comedies that are better than this; if you can't find one watch an episode of Friends or Coupling.

EASY is not a "chick flick" (though women will definitely identify with the main character) and is not your standard Hollywood romantic comedy. EASY is the film all those Hugh Grant movies aspire to be - smart, funny, sexy, appealing to both sexes, not smug and patronizing.

Jaime (Marguerite Moreau) dates a lot of jerks and it never works out. She's beautiful, interesting, neurotic, and dates in all the wrong ways. Any 20-40-something woman who didn't grow up in a convent will smile and cringe as she identifies with Jaime's struggle to figure out who she is, what she wants and how to get it. She seems to take one step forward and two steps back with her family and friends getting all tangled up in the story (in brilliantly funny ways).

This movie isn't spoon-fed to it's audience with all the glossiness of Hollywood. The sex scenes feel real, with no soundtrack crescendo at the climax (or anti-climax); the characters are sympathetic and interesting; I especially liked Brian F. O'Byrne's performance. Weinstock showed playfulness in writing the overlapping relationships with a tongue-in-cheek humor, ala Shakespeare or modern British comedy.

EASY is a funny, emotional, sexy movie for thinking adults, not the lobotomized masses that can't get enough close-ups of Julia Roberts' smile or Meg Ryan's smirk. It's smarter than other films about contemporary relationships. It's also better acted.

Finally: If you don't fall in love with Marguerite Moreau after seeing this film, you're made of stone.

After summarizing this movie in the Summary, I find little else to say except to repeat, to wit, this movie is a slow 97 minutes, but interest never flags, especially if you're hot for Marguerite Moreau, as she's in a large majority of scenes.

The action, as it were, moves forward less on plot than on slice-of-life vignettes while our heroine -- who had a history of poorly-chosen paramours, of men who didn't appreciate her, leaving break-up messages on her phone machine during the opening credits -- copes with the ups and downs of dealing with two who finally do. Watching Moreau's portrayal through these transitions lends a real-life atmosphere to the proceedings, and is the primary delight of this film. All in all, an easy watch.

Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a young woman that works giving original names to different products. She has a promiscuous life, with affairs with "Mr. Wrongs", differently of her sister that has a steady relationship with her boyfriend. Jamie misses her mother, who committed suicide when she was a child, and her father blames himself for the death of his wife. When Jamie dates her former professor John (Naveen Andrews), for whom she had a crush, she believes she found her prince charming. Meanwhile she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), the host of a TV show, and they become friends. When John ends his relationship with Jamie, she decides to begin a celibate for three months, and she becomes closer to Mick. After some wrong decisions, Jamie finally commits with her true love.

"Easy" is a delightful and sexy romance, supported by a delicious and wonderful screenplay and great direction and performances, but mostly by this lovely actress Marguerite Moreau. The witty and sensual character of Jamie Harris is credible because of the magnificent performance of the expressive and gorgeous Marguerite Moreau, and I really felt in love for her. The director Jane Weinstock shows a tight and sensitive direction in her first feature, and I expect to see another work of this promising professional. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Easy – Sem Compromisso" ("Easy – Without Commitment")

What an unexpected pleasure to watch a smart romantic comedy that doesn't condescend, and yet has everything work out in a most gratifying way. Jane Weinstock might not be the Jane Austen of our age, but she has the same intelligent approach to tracking our desire for romance, our foibles, the lessons we have to learn before we've earned our match. The actors, particularly the two sisters, do a beautiful job. Moreau is luminous. The camera work is terrific. I'm a fan.