By Douglas Wood
Rated P-13
Currently streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, YouTube
If Anton Chekhov became a woman and time-traveled to contemporary America, where she wrote and directed independent films, she might be mistaken for filmmaker Nicole Holofcener. Enough Said, her witty and wise dramedy from 2013, for instance, has all the elements one finds in Chekhov’s greatest plays: a focus on morally ambiguous characters, understated humor, themes that explore self-absorption and loneliness, and a realistic portrayal of everyday life, both mundane and profound.
Enough Said tells the story of two divorced Los Angelinos in their fifties who find each other at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives—when their daughters are college-bound and empty nests await. The couple is played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini, not your average casting for a romantic comedy, to be sure. Clearly, this is a film for adults.
Louis-Dreyfus is Eva, a masseuse whose friends– a combative married couple played by Toni Collette and Ben Falcone– invite her to a party where she meets two people at separate moments who will significantly change her life: Albert (Gandolfini), who runs a small television history archive, and Marianne, a successful poet played with nuanced narcissism by Holofcener regular, Catherine Keener.
Marianne contacts Eva for a massage around the same time Albert asks Eva out on a date. Eva is unaware that Albert is Marianne’s ex-husband; likewise, Marianne is oblivious that Albert and Eva are seeing each other. Conflicts arise once Eva connects the proverbial dots and must confront a moral dilemma: should she confess that she knows both Albert and Marianne? This would mean she’d no longer be privy to Marianne’s inside info about Albert (none of it good), and also possibly lose her budding friendship with the oh-so-cool poet who casually mentions she’s friends with Joni Mitchell.
What ensues isn’t a sit-com but a gentle comedy-of-manners, as disgruntled ex-wife, Marianne, kvetches endlessly to Eva about Albert’s annoying habits: he’s a slob, he’s clumsy in bed, and perhaps worst of all– he uses a chip to scoop around the onions when eating guacamole. While Eva is initially charmed by the sweet bear-like (or more accurately, teddy bear-like) Albert, she can’t help but be affected by Marianne’s observations. Can she love a man who feels he has no need for a bedside table? Is she too insecure to trust her own heart?
It’s not long before Albert picks up on Eva’s shifting attitude towards him—she’s never voiced a problem with his weight before, so why, suddenly, does she monitor the amount of butter he puts on his popcorn or complain that he doesn’t know how to whisper?
Holofcener is a keen observer of the way we conduct ourselves in matters of love, romantic and otherwise. She creates pathos in a storyline involving Eva’s paying more attention to her daughter’s friend than she does to her own daughter, Ellen (Tracey Fairaway). The relationship between the three women is one we don’t ordinarily see explored in movies and not only is it genuinely intriguing, it also has a resonant resolution that comments on Eva’s problem with boundaries.
Eva’s neuroses are similar to those of two characters Louis-Dreyfus has played on TV: Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, and the abrasive Selena Meyer from Veep. She does less mugging here as Eva—her performance is charming, and her frequent wisecracking with Albert is highly relatable—it’s the nervous flirting we do with someone we’re testing out, not sure whether or not they’re relationship material.
It helps that Louis-Dreyfus’s sparring partner is Gandolfini, who does a 180-degree turn from his portrayal of sociopathic tough guy, Tony Soprano, one of TV’s most iconic characters. Comic Louis C.K. was Holofcener’s first choice for the role of Albert; we can be thankful that it didn’t work out—he lacks the impish quality Gandolfini displays here. Despite his girth, he’s boyish and endearing, and while he isn’t “traditionally handsome” as Eva says in a spectacular understatement, we can see the appeal he holds for her. When he tells Eva with devastating honesty, “You broke my heart and I’m too old for that shit,” she withers in shame, and we realize we’re in Chekhov country, a place far away from sit-comville.
If you liked Enough Said, check out some of writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s other highly recommended films:
You Hurt My Feelings (2023) – A novelist’s marriage is suddenly threatened when she overhears her husband give his honest but negative reaction to her latest book. With Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins and Jeannie Berlin.
Please Give (2010) – A married couple who deal in antiques must contend with the granddaughters of the elderly woman who lives in the apartment the couple owns. With Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet and Ann Guilbert.
Friends with Money (2006) – The relationships of four best friends and their partners are tested when money and friendship converge. With Catherine Keener, Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Jason Isaacs, Ty Burrell and Scott Caan.
Lovely and Amazing (2001) – A matriarch and her three insecure daughters deal with issues of self-esteem and body image. With Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Catherine Keener, Raven Goodwin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dermot Mulroney and James Le Gros.