Please Give (2010)

A funny, intelligent, and slightly twisted movie (all good), this stars Catherine Keener as the guilt-ridden owner, with her husband Alex (played by Oliver Platt), of a Manhattan used furniture store, and we loved it. I've long been a fan of director/writer Nicole Holofcener (Walking and Talking (1996), Lovely & Amazing (2001), and Friends with Money (2006)), all of which are must-see squirm fests starring Keener, and this one will make you uncomfortable as well. But maybe that will make you laugh, as we did. Keener's Kate is guilty that she is privileged when the homeless camp outside, guilty that her fine mid-century merchandise comes from dead people's homes, guilty that her daughter (Sarah Steele, who played Adam Sandler's and Téa Leoni's daughter in Spanglish (2004)) is acquisitive, guilty that she and Alex (I love Platt and wrote about him in 2012 and Frost/Nixon) are waiting for their old neighbor to die so they can break through the walls and double the size of their flat. These are not spoilers--it's all revealed in the first few minutes, after the opening mammogram montage. See? Awkward. Yet great with the accompaniment of the Roches rendition of No Shoes. The old neighbor's patient granddaughter Rebecca (perfectly executed by Rebecca Hall from The Prestige (2006), Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Frost/Nixon; she uses her native British accent only in the latter) is a lab technician who administers mammograms. Amanda Peet (one of many addictive parts of the former TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and she was in Igby Goes Down (2002), which my faithful readers know I loved), who said she begged Holofcener for years to cast her in something, plays Rebecca's selfish, tan sister. Watch for lots of cameos: by This American Life commentator/producer Sarah Vowell (here's her bio with a picture and here's a link to hear some of her brilliant essays in her own squeaky voice) (in an earlier scene Kate is reading a book by Vowell--I loved her collections Take the Cannoli and The Partly Cloudy Patriot); by talented character actor Kevin Corrigan (I wrote about him in Big Fan; he was in Walking and Talking); by Elizabeth Berridge, who has had a lot of roles (mostly TV) since playing Mrs. Mozart in Amadeus (1984); by Keener's younger sister Elizabeth, who plays Cathy; among others. As you might expect, with the mid-century furniture, the sets are wonderful.

Jack & I highly recommend this. After you've seen it, check out this spoiler-ridden link and the press kit.