Serious Moonlight (Widescreen Edition) (2009)

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)It's been a full two decades since Meg Ryan emerged from a series of background girlfriend roles to become America's Sweetheart in 1989's When Harry Met Sally..., but in this strangely conceived 2009 comedy, she still has that undeniable twinkle in spite of all the age-defying cosmetic alterations to her face. The screenplay is the last work of the late actress Adrienne Shelly, who wrote, directed, and co-starred in 2007's agreeably idiosyncratic Waitress, and what they have in common is her supple dexterity in balancing the off-kilter elements of her stories into something deeper. This time, she takes a darker, less whimsical path in exposing the insidious nature of a marriage that has dissipated from a lack of communication. Her "Waitress" co-star Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) takes the helm in her directorial debut, and her lack of experience may attribute to the fact that it feels more like a filmed stage play despite Nancy Schreiber's expert cinematography.

The brief story focuses on married couple, Louise and Ian, on a day when they unexpectedly cross paths at their bucolic vacation home. A high-powered fortyish attorney, she comes home to find her house showered romantically with rose petals and Ian writing a Dear Jane letter to her. He has decided after thirteen years of marriage that he wants a divorce, so he can rendezvous with his 24-year-old girlfriend Sarah in Paris. Unwilling to accept that her marriage has gone kaput, Louise inadvertently knocks him out with a flower pot and takes advantage of his unconsciousness in order to duct tape him to a chair until he relents. This is the beginning of a roundelay in which they spar about the merits of their marriage. Ian spends most of the 84-minute running time stuck on the toilet as he faces one humiliation after another. Even though Louise exhibits vaguely sociopathic behavior, she does not represent the only threat to Ian.

There is a nasty twist to the story in the form of an interloper that turns their vituperative cat-and-mouse game into a game of survival. The open ending doesn't quite satisfy, although the implications that it raises lends texture to what has gone on before. Ryan acquits herself well as Louise, and although it's not remarkable work, it shows that the actress could thrive into middle-age with her fizzy spirit intact. She manages to give heart to the tenacious hold her character has on her flailing marriage. In a welcome big-screen return as Ian, Timothy Hutton does what he can under a lot of duct tape in a mostly passive role with moments of vented exasperation, while Kristin Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) shows surprising grit as Sarah, especially toward the end when the women grapple on the bathroom floor. Justin Long provides a menacing edge to the smallish role of the lawn-mowing low-life. More than Hines' workmanlike direction, Shelly's somewhat uneven screenplay offers enough dark elements to make the contrived set-up worth accepting for the sake of the unfolding story she wanted to tell.

This is an interesting and fun movie. I love watching both Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton so my review is a bit biased. The acting is good from both actors and seeing Meg Ryan play a psycho in the beginning is worth it. If you've seen the movie French Kiss with Ryan and Hutton you can imagine what could have happened if she had not meet Luke (Kevin Kline's character). Interestingly enough her character in this movie is not all that different. The plot and story is not something new. It reminds me of The Ref like another reviewer said. It's not the best performances from either actor and Hutton's new show (Leverage is a good example of what he can do).

The problem with this type of movie is that it tries to be a comedy but the themes are sad and too strong and overtakes the comedy. I dives into the emotional states of the characters then jumps to a comedic point. In that sense its not that great a movie. But if you like watching these actors and don't mind a story that's a little tired you'll have a good time. One more thing, Ryan has uncanny accuracy with flower pots!

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In this story of a marriage on the skids between Louise (Meg Ryan), a high-powered Manhattan attorney, and her husband of thirteen years, Ian (Timothy Hutton), a strange and dark episode unfolds and halts Ian's plans to run away with his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell).

It all takes a turn when Ian announces his plans to leave her, and Louise reacts by deciding to hold him captive until they can work on their marriage.

Then she goes out to run some errands, and when she returns, she finds that a gardener has stolen most of their belongings, and when he sees Louise, he also ties her up. Soon they are joined by the girlfriend, who is wondering why Ian didn't meet her at the airport--and you guessed it, she ends up with duct tape as well.

What happens next turns this very dark comedy on its ear. Do you think that the warring spouses will make up? Will we find out that something quite unexpected has been going on?

I know I was stunned by the ending to Serious Moonlight (Widescreen)...and that's all I'm saying about it.

Five stars.

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[Anyone who dislikes this movie I'm guessing you've never been married. You just don't get it!] I'm in my late 30's, and have been married 6 years, to a wonderful man. I really enjoyed Serious Moonlight. I could relate to it, and where the wife was coming from. Upset at your husband? No need to yell, scream, holler, get revenge. Instead... grab the duct tape! Serious Moonlight was different. Creative. Unexpected.

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"Why did you ever love me?" Louise asks her husband, Ian. Ian was in the midst of leaving his wife for his girlfriend Sarah until Louise comes home from work and stops him. Louise devises an intervention to get her husband back. She holds him hostage in the restroom while showing him an array of wedding clips. The dialogue between the strained couple is very truthful, which I'm sure most couples can relate to. The lawnmower man came into the house while Louise was in the kitchen and proceeded to rob the place. Sara the younger other woman comes in during the fiasco and gets the privilege of getting duct taped. There certainly was lot of tension when Sara comes in to find Louise sitting on Ian's lap. I enjoyed the brief moments where the gold fish was shown in between moments. Then it dies when the bowl is knocked over. It is a sign of a broken bond. I liked Justin Long's performance here. It's the best I've seen from him. His character, the robber, made a lot of sense too. His theory: A husband promises a woman to love her for life. When the husband fails to do that he is indeed a failure. All in all, men cheat because of something inside themselves they are not satisfied with. It's very easy for men to move on with their "rational" sense of thinking. Although, I think if a couple was together for as long as Ian and Louise, they should recall the point as to why they married in the first place, especially at that age. Anyhow, it was a perfect setup on Louise's part and she got what she wanted from the foo. Perfect mix of humor and darkness. Good film over all.

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