Available at Amazon.com
Directors
Robert Cary
Cast
Jennifer Westfeldt – Abby
Chris Messina – Ira
Fred Willard – Michael
Judith Light – Arlene
Jason Alexander – Dr. Morris Saperstein
Release Date: January 29th
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: R
The Movie
Ira and Abby is a look into the crazed world of marriage. The movie starts out with Ira talking to his therapist and firmly establishes him as neurotic. He then meets Abby who is a bit of a free spirit and they both feel the spark right away. And since she’s a free spirit, they decide to get married. 6 hours later. They meet each others parents that same night and soon after they get married. And that starts the roller coaster of ups and downs that everyone tells you all marriages have. I personally don’t know, never been married.
Ira’s parents are both “analysts” which explains why he is as neurotic as he is. His parents have been meddling with his emotions since he was a child. While Abby’s parents are the typical, live by the moment, have fun parents. And through the movie there are marriages, divorces, affairs and a lot of therapists.
The movie is billed as a romantic comedy, and it’s got some understated comedic pieces – enough to get a laugh every now and then, but not so much so it stuffs the story. What holds this movie back from being better is the pacing. It starts out at a frenetic pace with Ira and Abby meeting and getting married in the first 15 minutes of the movie and it’s just impossible for the movie to keep up with that pace, and it makes the slower paced parts of the story seem even slower.
There were some very cool shot setups in the movie. The one that stands out the most is when Ira is telling his parents about Abby, and he is shown in a mirror talking to them while they’re leaning against the wall. And when watching that scene, you’ll notice there are no cuts. So a fine bit of acting there.
The acting is fine throughout the movie. Fred Willard shows a more serious side of himself and does a pretty good job with it. Chris Messina played the neurotic character well.
A/V Quality
Video is fine. Some neat shots I liked.
Audio is good, everyone is heard and nothing is muffled.
Special Features
Basic stuff in here. Commentary talking about how great all the actors are.
Some deleted scenes and extended scenes.
And a short outtake reel.
The Inside Pulse
While not that funny, it’s funny enough. It’s more thought provoking than you’d expect from a traditional romantic comedy and really takes a deep look at the institution of marriage, and really gives a good idea of where the state of marriage could be heading. This was a hard review to write, because the movie is just so average. It’s not going to knock your socks off, but it will keep you entertained.
