DVD
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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I had heard a bit of balking from fellow JoyHog writers regarding their reaction to this movie. It was kind of plugged as this pseudo romantic comedy that starts at a funeral and ends up in Meg Ryan-land. I actually put the DVD on with every intention of doing other things while it was running. Once it began, however, I just sort of sat, perched on the edge of my chair as I watched this little story unfold. You see, Jennifer Garner plays a woman named Gray, whose wedding becomes a funeral when her fiancée kicks it before the nuptials. She has an awkward encounter with Fritz, a close friend of the deceased, who is grieving by way of grabbing a little nookie nookie during the wake. From there, the sordid past of her beau begins to come to light as she moves in with a couple male friends. As everything comes out into the open, there are also new troubles afoot in the house (depression, unrequited love, snogging and overeating among them). The tight quarters allow plenty of eavesdropping and such, as if it were a college dorm with nicer furniture. And it is a pretty wonderful and sincere character study that we are left with. Written and directed by Susannah Grant (“Erin Brokovich” / “In Her Shoes”), this style of ensemble drama echoes back to one of her earlier credits, that of a writer/director/producer on “Party of Five.” And you know we liked that show, so I think this one is worth a look. It’s not romantic squishiness and it’s not “Terms of Endearment,” but something wonderful and understated in between.