Enough said that ENOUGH SAID is a rom com for the older gen.
Actually, there’s a lot to be said about ENOUGH SAID, where the age of the two protagonists might cause Gen X and Y to preface carbon to the word dating.
Divorced masseuse Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) finds herself facing life on her own for the first time as her only child, her daughter, Ellen (Tracey Fairaway), prepares to go off to college. Just as the departure nears, she meets and is charmed by Albert (James Gandolfini in his last leading role), also about to face an empty nest. As she and Albert become involved, Eva befriends a new client, Marianne (Catherine Keener), a tasteful, talented beautiful poet who inspires envy and admiration. Unfortunately, however, Marianne complains incessantly about her ex-husband, making Eva her confidant. Just as Eva is falling in love with Albert, she figures out that Albert is in fact, Marianne’s ex. Panicked and conflicted, Eva keeps the truth to herself and begins to doubt her own perceptions and feelings towards her new boyfriend.
In contrast to the “clean slate” that young lovers enjoy, older people bring form or baggage, a life strewn with mistakes and missteps. Embarking on romance is akin to being on parole where pre-emptive perceptions of things past cast a pall of pessimism over natural chemistry and mutual attraction.
Before they can be affianced they must deal with the malfeasance of his ex spouse, who espouses poisonous negatives about her ex husband, unavoidably tainting the fledgling infatuates and heading the rookie romance to the rocks.
There’s a real honesty hoisting this film, a sincerity that flows like a main circuit cable from script to performance. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini are delicious together, delighting in their shared realisations, fragile in their vulnerability and failures.
A strong supporting cast headed by Toni Collette, allowed to perform in her natural voice, gives textural strength to this complex quilt of mature age courting.
Writer director Nicole Holefcener strikes a fine balance of bitter sweet in this funny, affable and affectionate film. ENOUGH SAID, go see it.