Serious Moonlight

Louise: Because, my love, you are going to stay there until we work things out.

And so begins this drama between a married couple with no children, he a corporate office employee, she a successful lawyer.

I agree with most all previous posters mentioned. To pull off a story that will keep you interested until the very end with just 3 major players is quite a feat. The strength lies, of course, in the powerful dialogue between them. But more than that, this story is not just a flick on failed relationships, but on WHY they fail. Luoise (Meg Ryan) cannot and will not accept the fact that Ian (Timothy Hutton), her husband, wishes to leave her. She cannot accept he has fallen in love with a lovely, younger woman. But the truth is not so simple. If you listen carefully past the hurt locker, you will hear reasons, good ones, as to why these things happen. The fault is not entirely the wife's, but it is not entirely the husband's either. What happens is that in most cases, problems never get talked about and discussed. In this story, events unfolded in such a way they were forced to.

But then again, we have the usual guilt/blame game. It took both of them quite some time to accept where they had failed, Louise much longer than Ian. In the middle, you have Sara (Kristen Bell), who obviously loved Ian and went to lengths to fight for him. In the end, as they say, may the best man (or woman) win, but if you notice carefully, there was something lacking in Ian when these scenes were being played out, something which makes you think , "Ok, now, seriously, are you gonna be a man about this or what?" I couldn't help feeling sorry for the girl - she was obviously sincere and showed it without compunction.

However, just when you think you've got it all figured out and you see the pieces falling into place, well here comes the final scene, where you say, "What? what just happened...hello? what was that? run that by me again?" and you feel like I did, like the wind had just been knocked out of me and I sat staring at the screen wondering what I saw. Ingenious! I'm sitting here writing this and still turning this scene over and over in my mind, contemplating the different possible meanings.

I don't agree the movie is a waste of time or disappointing. Don't think this is another exercise at flogging the dead horse of marital what-have-you problems. No, this is an ingenious and well-written story, a bit off the regular path, yes, and bizarre in some ways, but well done. I don't think anyone's acting was poor either. The humorous parts made me laugh, and the sad ones made me shake my head in sorrow.

Watch it and enjoy yourself! Well worth it!!

If you enjoy films like "War of the Roses", you should like this one.

Basically this is a love-triangle story about a man (Tim Hutton) whose planning on leaving his wife (Meg Ryan) of 14 years for a much younger woman (Kristin Bell). The wife doesn't respond well and much inappropriate behavior follows.

Not much depth is written into these people but Ryan and Hutton do a rather spectacular job with their roles anyway. Special notice should be given to Justin Long's cameo as a thug. He seems to relish his small 'against type-cast' role. Unfortunately, Kristin Bell bores us with her very two-dimensional performance.

The plot tidies itself up rather too quickly from this twisted story, but at least we're not left with an overly long film. And the first hour is one of the darkest hours of film I've ever seen--in a good way.

If you've seen Adrienne Shelly's (the writer) other film, "Waitress", you'll be familiar with the style of this film. "Waitress" is a more complete movie with much more depth. However, Cheryl Hines--who took over for Shelly after her untimely death--does a commendable job.

I'm saddened to realize this will be the last work we see from the mind of Adrienne Shelly. As it stands, it's not a bad way to be remembered. A writer/director who had a flair for gracefully exploring people's darkest emotions and desires.

And no, I'm not just saying this because I'm strapped to a toilet!

P.S. This film is not a date flick;)

Ian (Timothy Hutton) wants to have a day with his mistress Sara (Kristen Bell) but his high-powered lawyer wife Louise (Meg Ryan) surprises him by showing up a day early. He is packing to leave her when she takes him prisoner. She vows to win him over. She lies to Sara about their impending separation and sends her away. While Louise is out, Ian gets the attention of lawnmower Todd (Justin Long). Instead of helping, Todd starts robbing the home.

Adrienne Shelly has written a quirky story. However it doesn't have enough comedy and directing novice Cheryl Hines is unable to inject any. Ryan and Hutton are angry but the comedy falls flat. The quirky tone is not funny until the last act when Hutton, Ryan and Bell are locked in the bathroom. It's a little late although it's good to end on a good note. The movie needs to have that tone from the start.

First off, don't buy this movie unless your a colector of Meg Ryan films etc...

Secondly, rent it only when you have rented 90 percent of all the other movies you want to see....

Meg Ryan, and I am a fan, was quite good in this film and for that reason only I have rated it a 6 out of 10.

I don't want to give away any part of the movie at all however, there is a scene with Timothy Hutton (Ian). I guess its a dream or a flashback, i'm not at all sure how it fits into the film but its half way in and its at least a minute long where most woman will be absolutely shocked that Meg Ryan was part of this filth.

My suggestion, watch it with your female friends, most men will only appreciate 1 minute of this shocking film.

This is one of the better movies I have seen this past month or so.

Meg Ryan puts on a marvelous performance as the slightly crazy wife doing whatever she can to make her husband love her.

This is a comedy unlike most other comedies out there. It had really good dialogue and some nice scenes. You just curl your toes at the extremes Meg Ryan's character goes to for making her husband stay with her. Now, it is not a comedy that will make you roll over laughing with tears streaming down your cheeks, but it is funny and have a very believable feel to it. You really get to feel for the characters of the movie.

I like Meg Ryan as an actress, and this is one of the better roles I have seen her portray in awhile. A good step away from the usual romantic comedies that she have been making.

Without giving away too much of the story, I found the plot to be very predictable. Very easy to figure out what happens early on and also easy to figure out how it will end - it is a Hollywood movie after all. And I am not just saying that because I am taped to a toilet!