Easy

As someone who works at the Sundance Film Festival as a volunteer assistant manager/crowd control, I have seen many films in my 7 years there. But this film, which showed in January of this year, 2004, was selected as a special film to show to volunteers the same night as Opening Night. What a good choice.

The indie world's version of a romantic comedy/drama (meaning, its not predictable, it's very realistic, and it STILL entertains), "EASY" is a film that should please most audiences who watch it, primarily the female movielover. This film, to my male eyes, accurately shows what a sexually active, yet celibacy-curious, young woman's life can be like, especially when she meets two men who are right for her, though at slightly different times. (Hollywood would have her meet them the same day....though she almost does here. One of them happens to host a local TV show that she watches at home.)

The beauty here, and what i won't spoil, is you don't know which guy she will end up with. (There's absolutely no guarantee that she'll end up with anyone, period.) Actually, "the beauty here" is the lead character, played by the I-dare-you-to-not-fall-for-her Marguerite Moreau. Reminding me of Barbara Hershey in her 20s, Ms. Moreau holds the film together like Super Glue, and deserves credit for being an actress who, in these slightly prudish times, allows herself to be realistically filmed during sexual moments. Adding to the film's cohesiveness are the performances by the other actors, including Emily Deschanel, Zooey's equally talented sister, and the two guys played by Naveen Andrews and Brian F. O'Byrne.

Writer/director Jane Weinstock probably deserves some of that credit, as an actor can only do something truthfully, if he or she feels there's someone they can trust behind the camera. It's a film that made me bemoan my current non-existant love life, as it shows the fun and the messiness inherent with strong sexual relationship.

This is not a heavy film, by any means. It's as if the DNA of Nora Ephron was spliced with John Cassavetes. And on top of the expert storytelling...is the great soundtrack by Grant Lee Phillips. Not only are some of his past songs from his solo albums used (where I nodded my head during one lovely red-tinged sex scene, aware that a song that i already loved, was being used PERFECTLY), but he also supplied the score throughout.

Enough gushing. Someone take this film, and give it to the movie-dating Saturday night crowd. (As far as I know, it's still looking for a distributor.) Watch more heads start to nod, as the music and images and acting and writing/directing all gel together to make an "EASY" winner.

I never was into the 'singles scene' nevertheless I was impressed with the realism depicted in this film.

its strongest point is its unpredictability, just like real life.

the lovemaking scenes are important but secondary, fully consistent with the realism in the rest of the film.

romance for 20 and 30 something singles is a veritable minefield and not getting any better. if you want insight into the sacrifices and rewards necessary to survive, starting with genuine loyalty topped off with a huge dollop of FORGIVENESS then watch this film.

and a happy ending to boot. likewise, very plausible.

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.

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")

Miss it, unless you have an awful lot of spare time.

This film is about the love life of "Jamie," who is the title character. Jamie is a 20-something woman who sleeps with every guy in sight. Yup, she's easy all right. She generally seems to be okay with that. However, her random hook-ups just aren't satisfying her of late. She decides to launch into a period of celibacy, just like the main character in the mainstream film "40 Days and 40 Nights." In the mean time, her friends and relatives pair up, get pregnant, and get married in unusual combinations.

While Jamie's wild ways last, this is a cute and fun movie. The characters seem slightly more genuine than usual. Jamie's sex scenes are awfully hot. However, the film quickly looses steam for lack of any sort of real plot. Well, a meandering plot less Indy film is no rarity, but the script then tries to keep us interested by springing "cheap drama" out of every futon in LA. Out of nowhere there are pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, gay marriages, inter-color marriages, geriatric marriages, etc. Overnight, Jamie is transformed from a free-wheeling free-love adventurer to a sexually delicate and vulnerable shrinking violet.

Perhaps if this film had been made 30 years ago such an unconnected series of events would have seemed interesting for being nonconformist. It might have been taken to indicate some change in society. These days, such relationships are not interesting in their own right.

So, the last half breaks down into a soap opera.