Lovely and Amazing

Following her minor indie hit Walking & Talking, writer-director Nicole Holofcener offers a serious family comedy that deals in realistic ways with unique situations. Thirtysomething sisters Michelle and Elizabeth (Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer) deal with unpredictable careers and even less stable men. Their middle-aged mother (Brenda Blethyn) struggles to raise adopted 8-year-old daughter Annie (Raven Goodwin), who happens to be African-American. Some of the men complicating their lives include Jake Gyllenhaal, James Le Gros, Clark Gregg and Dermot Mulroney. Lovely & Amazing, in its own messy and implausible manner, finds authentic humor and drama in narcissism, low self-image, infidelity, statutory rape, hair-straightening and the dangers of liposuction. You’ll not be able to predict what’s coming next in this completely charming and offbeat movie.