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Prime starring Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg & Meryl Streep: A Good Romantic Comedy That Becomes Better With (Your) Age

Posted on October 16, 2016 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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Prime 2005 movie poster
Prime (aff. link) poster via flixter.

Beautiful, recently divorced, emotionally raw 37-year-old Rafi (Uma Thurman) works in fashion and heals herself through therapy sessions with her psychiatrist Lisa Metzger (Meryl Streep).

Lisa is a devout Jew in her personal life who’s not thrilled that her 23-year-old son David (Bryan Greenberg) wants to be an artist, holds menial jobs and lives with his maternal grandparents. David also seems a bit more lax about his religion and doesn’t have a serious girlfriend.

Not knowing their connection, Rafi and David start dating. Rafi says she is dating a 27-year-old to Lisa, and David also tells his mother that he is also dating a 27-year-old. Happy for Rafi, Lisa encourages her relationship. However, as a mother, she is really upset David is dating a non-Jewish woman “4 years older” than him.

As Rafi shares their most intimate moments, they start falling for each other. But with more details and Rafi admitting his real age, Lisa puts it all together. So what the hell is she going to do now?

*
Prime is a thoughtful, sincere and hilarious romantic comedy. You have the classic disapproving mother-in-law conflict tripled by making the potential in-law from a different religion and the therapist. Add 14 years of age difference, and we’ve all got some thinking to do. Especially sometimes since David acts his age (and not in a good way), and Rafi is craving for a baby.

I sincerely recommend it. And Meryl Streep is just hilarious.

*
Spoilers Ahead: More About Prime (and Why It Gets Better As You Age)

When I first saw Prime (2005), I was about David’s age. And like David, I was a lot more optimistic. And unlike Rafi, I didn’t really want kids, so I was disappointed by the ending. And being a romantic impaired my judgment. I thought the film was okay, but it needed a happy ending.

But seeing it again it at 31, closer to Rafi’s age than David’s, I think the movie is great as it is. Honestly, I’m a bit freaked out at the idea of dating a 23-year-old even though I’m younger than Ravi, don’t mind a fling and still don’t want any kids!

As much as age is just a number in theory, and we are likely to break or bend our own rules when it comes to strong romantic connections, it is easier to see the ending as “right” and not as a disappointment.

Then there is the fact that this is Lisa’s story, as much as it is Rafi and David’s. While they both learn things about themselves, relationships and what they need to do in life, Lisa learns to give David a bit more freedom. She learns that the extreme gap between how she treats her patients and how she treats her family needs to be smaller, and that David needs a different route than her to be happy. And that’s okay.

*

So a lot of romance, comedy and character growth will warm up your heart. Give Prime a shot. Written and directed by Ben Younger.

Also on Uma Thurman

The Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman and Mira Sorvino

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: ben younger, Bryan Greenberg, meryl streep, Prime, prime movie, prime movie review, Uma Thurman

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman and Mira Sorvino

Posted on September 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Noah Emmerich, Lauren Holly and Rosie O'Donnell
Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Mira Sorvino, Uma Thurman, Natalie Portman, Michael Rapaport, Noah Emmerich, Lauren Holly and Rosie O’Donnell.

Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) is a piano player, living in the city. He is not exactly sure about his future career path and he is equally clueless about what he wants from his girlfriend Tracy (Annabeth Gish).He heads home to a small town called Knight’s Ridge, to stay for a couple of days and reunite for his old school friends. As it turns out, Willie is not the only one unsure about his relationship:

Tommy (Matt Dillon) is dating Sharon (Mira Sorvino) but he is still hung up on his high school girl friend Darian (Lauren Holly); who is married with a kid, but still hung up on Tommy and ready to bed him at any opportunity. Sharon loves Tommy, but she is not sure how much longer she can take the Darian issue.

Paul (Michael Rapaport) has been dumped by Jan, his girlfriend of 7 years (Martha Plimpton) – because he wouldn’t make a commitment. She is now seeing another guy and this is handled “very maturely” by Paul whose job is to clear up snow-blocked patios but keeps blocking her garage door with snow and by trying to force a brown wedding ring on her. He has a dog called Elle MacPherson and has his room walls covered with posters of models.

Michael (Noah Emmerich) is the happier one. He has turned into the perfect family man, raising his two young kids with his wife, and seeming to be OK with domestic bliss, which is really pissing of Paul –who thinks men do deserve supermodels.

Willie finds his old house and his residents pretty much the same- his father (Richard Bright) still loves TV and his younger brother Bobby (David Arquette) is pretty much in his own world. However change comes in the form of the 13-year-old next door neigbor girl named Marty (Natalie Portman). She is smart, friendly, upfront and likable. So likeable in fact that Willie starts wishing he wasn’t 29. He is also thinking that her older version could actually be his soulmate.

Things get even more complicated when their favorite bar owner Stinky (Pruitt Taylor Vince)’s gorgeous cousin Andera (Uma Thurman) comes for a visit. All the gang pretty much wants to be around her. Will the gang be able to grow up a little before their high school reunion comes up?

***

This is a wonderful “coming of age” story. It is not about teens turning into adults, but young adults who have problems of letting their teens/younger versions without responsibilities go.  Granted, it is strength is not in the originality of the characters or the story, but in the lovely story-telling and more than impressive cast. The dialogue is also very fun.

Beautiful Girls is a drama/comedy/romance, but I would call it a relationship genre, if there was one. Because it is about relationships- romantic/family/friendships and also about the characters’ relationships with life. It has pretty decent jokes and entertaining moments. The comedy is more dominant than the emotional tones and thankfully nothing is overdone. It is lovely to see all of these actors in one movie and all of them so young. See this.

Directed by Ted Demme, written by Scott Rosenberg 7.1 on IMDB, voted by over 15,000 people.

Selection of Favorite Lines

Rosie O’Donnell’s character is educating” Wilie (Timothy Hutton) and Tommy (Matt Dillon) about life:

Gina: I’m finished speaking to both of you okay? You’re both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That’s the way it goes. God doesn’t fuck around; he’s a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It’s not my rule. If you don’t like it, call him.

***

Stinky (on Andera, played by Uma Thurman) Do you see her face? Girls like that are born with a boyfriend.

***

Willie: I was jealous of a little kid on a bike, because he gets to be her age, and I’m this vile old man. Like that guy, what’s-his-name…
Michael ‘Mo’ Morris: Roman Polanski?

Willie (on Marty): You just want to say to her, in all sincerity, take me with you when you go

Michael: Willie, she was a zigot when you were in the 7th grade!

***

Tommy: No, Paul is not my friend. He lives in my house. I got cockroaches, I got termites… I got Paul.

Fun Facts

–          Timothy Hutton is 36 in the film. Natalie is 15.

–          This is the second time 12/13 year-old character of Natalie Portman fascinates an adult male. The other movie is Léon.

–          Lauren Holly co-stars in this movie with David Arquette, actress Courteney Cox’s husband. Courteney Cox met David Arquette on the set of scream. Lauren had turned the role Courteney played in Ace Ventura, opposite Jim Carrey. But Lauren later played in Dumb and Dumber opposite Jim Carrey. The two later got married

Other Posts on the Cast Members

Natalie Portman

Closer starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts

Noah Emmerich

Pride and Glory starring Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich and Jon Voight

Beyond Borders starring Clive Owen, Angelina Jolie and Noah Emmerich

Matt Dilllon

In and Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Matt Dillon and Tom Selleck

Timothy Hutton

The Absolute Timothy Hutton Trivia: 18 Facts About Leverage Star Timothy Hutton

City of Industry starring Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff and Timothy Hutton

The Killing Room starring Timothy Hutton

Ordinary People starring Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch

Serious Moonlight starring Timothy Hutton and Meg Ryan

Taps starring Timothy Hutton, Tom Cruise and Sean Penn

Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton

The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. Feat. Timothy Hutton

The Good Shepherd starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. Feat. Timothy Hutton

Uma Thurman

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The Life Before Her Eyes

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Annabeth Gish, beautfiul girls movie, beautiful girls, comedy, David Arquette, Lauren Holly, Martha Plimpton, Matt Dillon, Max Perlich, Michael Rapaport, Mira Sorvino, movies, Natalie Portman, Noah Emmerich, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Rosie O’Donnell, Scott Rosenberg, ted demme, Timothy Hutton, timothy hutton movies, Uma Thurman

The Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood

Posted on October 25, 2009 Written by ripitup

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SPOILERS !! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!!

You should either have watched the movie, or you really shouldn’t mind spoilers. Because I’m going to dig deep with this one.

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The Life Before Her Eyes with Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood and Brett Cullen
the_life_before_her_eyes06666
Brett Cullen plays Diana’s husband

When you really like a movie, you don’t really have to go out of your ways to find reasons to explain why you liked it. And when you really didn’t enjoy it, even little things bug you. For me, I really don’t know where I stand with this movie. During the first half, I found myself lost in the story. I was mesmerized.

Uma Thurman has become one of my favorite actresses to watch. She has grown up from the young innocent looking girl to this incredibly beautiful and talented woman. She was good to watch in her earlier roles in movies like Dangerous Liaisons, Gattaca, Tape and later on in Prime.  She is versatile; like any good actress should be.

I was curious about Evan Rachel Wood. She became so popular lately and I hadn’t seen really seen her in anything before and this was a chance to see if she was a promising actress. She is.

The movie gave me a good surprise too. I didn’t know Brett Cullen was in it until the opening credits rolled and I have always loved seeing him. Seriously. No matter how big or small his role is, you bring Cullen on any time. Yes, I admit I have had a bit of a crush on him ever since I first saw him in Something to Talk About. He is handsome on a very classy level and has this aura that suggests you can trust him; which makes him good for the nice guy parts and even better for the not so nice parts, since you wouldn’t really see it coming.

So three good actors, a wonderfully sad& tragic event told in flashbacks. So far so good. Let me go over the story.

Diana is in her 30s, living in suburbia with her loving husband and beautiful little daughter. They have a beautiful home and a great family. But it is a tough time for Diana. 15 years ago, her school witnessed one of the worst tragedies ever. One of her classmates brings a gun to school and shoots almost everyone. Diana and her best friend Maureen are in the girls’ room when the boy finds them. He says that he is going to shoot only one of them so they have to choose. It is horrible. It is terrifying. Both girls are scared shitless, and in shock. But Maureen suggests that if he is going to shoot one, he should shoot Maureen.

Diana (Uma Thurman) has led a good life. A life that seems like Maureen would have wanted for herself, had she lived. You see, Maureen has been the good little Christian. She was a loving friend, a dutiful daughter, a church-going virgin who really wanted to get married and have kids. She was the one with romantic fantasies. Diana (young Diana is played by Evan Rachel Wood) on the other hand was a rebel. She smoked pot, wasn’t exactly the best student and she slept with boy(s). She even had to get an abortion. Maureen was there for her as always. They were really different, but they had a strong bond and a true friendship.

So Diana still feels guilty, 15 years later. She has stayed in town, like Maureen would. She has got the husband and kid and the teaching job. Hell, her daughter even goes to a school run by the nuns.

As the movie progresses, she starts to lose control. She remembers more and more about her time with Maureen and her mind frequently revisits the day of the shooting. She also seems to have hallucinations. Things seem a certain way for a moment and then…they don’t.

So I’m thinking, it should be the post-traumatic stress coming back. I mean, it might have been 15 years but it was an awful tragedy. Her best friend was killed by a psychopath. Hell, almost all of the school was killed by him. Moreover, he told her about his plans the day before and she didn’t take him seriously. So, it is OK for her to be “losing it”. It is expected. Half the movie, I expected her to open her bathroom cabinet and reveal to us that she has been using anti-depressants. Otherwise, how could she stay in the same town and drive by the same school everyday, on her way to drop her daughter off? You should have to be heavily medicated or well, some sort of a masochist.

We go back to that bathroom scene a lot. Too many times, in fact. And then voila! We go back there one last time and we actually find out that it was Diana who was shot, not Maureen. Because Diana tells the guy to shoot her, repeatedly. So the guy does what Diana asks. He shoots Diana. So apparently it was Diana’s life before her eyes- just not as flashbacks as most people admit to experience as they feel they are going to go but vivid, coherent (most of the time) flashforwards. So basically picturing her future life, she decides she can not live with that guilt. She chooses to save her best friend instead. While it is a noble act, it also naturally creates a controversy between the viewers.

I know movies always divide people but this one was actually more than asking for it. Some hate the movie because they believe it is a pro-Christian/anti-abortion movie. I honestly hadn’t seen that one coming. They feel like that the fact the good Christian lives and the “slut” dies insults them. Some believe it is a poetic movie with just the right ending. Some don’t have problem with the ending, they just find the whole movie boring. But having visited some discussion boards, I really didn’t come across anyone who thought Diana had to have a mental problem. I was actually hoping to explain the ending like this: She felt so guilty after all those years and that in order to get a closure , she pictured and/or wished a different ending for what happened.Otherwise, I really have to agree with the others who think that the fact that she can have such a flashforward is absurd. I don’t mean you can’t think your future when you are at gunpoint. I have never been at gunpoint, so I have no insight to what you may or you may not think. But I can claim that it is downright bullshit that she could have imagined all that. Because she had what? 10 seconds? And she had time to develop an alternate life in the future with so many details? It is humanly impossible to generate that many thoughts in such a little time. In fact, I don’t remember even a sci-fi movie with a character who could generate that much thought, in that little time.

This movie actually had the opposite effect on me, compared to the effect of watching The Sixth Sense. I thought that movie was slow to watch. But the ending paid off. The ending made it all worthwhile. But here, the ending made me feel like I wish I hadn’t seen it.

I am not saying you should stay away from the movie, but I can’t whole-heartedly recommend it either. I expected the movie to blow me away. And it did. Then it also put me off. Told you, mixed feelings. Maybe it is because I cared more about having Diana alive rather than Maureen. It just feels like one of those movies where you go with the flow and really enjoy it. And then the main character wakes up. What do you know!!! She had a dream. And you are like What the ….???

Posts featuring Uma Thurman

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Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating

The Accidental Husband starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Colin Firth

Pulp Fiction

Posts featuring Evan Rachel Wood

Down in the Valley starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood

33 Actors From My Generation: Actors Born Between 1980-1990

Bizzare Celebrity Couplings featuring Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Bret Cullen, drama, Evan Rachel Wood, movies, The Life Before Her Eyes, the life before her eyes movie review, Uma Thurman

The Accidental Husband: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Posted on May 13, 2009 Written by ripitup

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jeffrey dean as denny duquette
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette

So I love Jeffrey Dean Morgan.I have loved him since he played the romantic,emotional and heart-breakingly handsome patient Denny Duquette in Grey’s Anatomy.He came to the show in urgent need for a heart transplant,started sweetly flirting with the beautiful doctor intern Izzy,played by Katherine Heigl. He was sweet and fun,and he just spoke his mind.They fell for each other and it really complicated things for Izzy,since the guy had a risk of dying in every episode he appeared. The chemistry was great.Frankly,I lost all interest in the show after they killed him off.I had liked the show in the beginning,actually. But after Denny came on,no other attempt at romance in the show seemed real or desirable enough for me.He also made the handsome and intense character McDreamy seem more like a troubled and annoying boy,rather than a male that can be called an object of desire.

patrick dempsey as dr.derek shepard,a.ka. mc dreamy
Patrick Dempsey as Dr.Derek Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy, a.ka. McDreamy

McDreamy looking all dreamy again…

Well,then he came back in P.S. I love you.

jeffrey dean in p.s. I love you

It was a lovely movie. Gerard Butler was awesome, he did a great job as the beautiful husband (speaking of both the character’s personality and looks) who was unexpectedly lost to a disease,leaving letters and surprises behind to guide his wife through her pain. So when she went to Ireland, and met Jeffrey’s character,it felt so soon for her to move on- after such an amazing marriage,with an amazing guy. Well,she did not move on emotionally but did like him and slept with him. But I really had to forgive her. Hell,  J.Dean looks amazing, in every aspect and he was playing a musician.

The Accidental Husband

The Accidental Husband movie poster, starring Uma Thurman, Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Uma Thurman is a therapist/psychologist who has a hit radio show on giving relationship advice to women.
Unfortunately for J.D.’s firefighter, his fiancé calls the show and decides to break it off with him,inspired by her. Mad at the “love” doctor, and playing along with his computer whiz young friend,they hack into the registry,change her marital status to married-to J. The prank kinda messes up her plans of marrying her own fiance so she has to find this guy whom she has never heard of but appears to be married to.
Now,of course Dean’s Patrick is everything Colin Firth‘s Richard. Patrick is a spur-of-the-moment,impulsive and a passionate guy.He is also funny and very charming.So it is fun watching him enjoying torturing Uma,while feigning innocence-and then getting into trouble himself when he starts liking her…And of course it becomes more difficult for her to stay away from him..
It is not a great movie.It is just a fun movie. Could’ve been a better one but its silliness works anyway…When u see the neighbors and friends of Patrick, you will see.
But of course it is highly unrealistic and maybe even unfair to cast Jeffrey in such romantic roles.How many guys that gorgeous, can be loyal, romantic and fun? Seriously….

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Colin Firth, Denny Duquette, Gerard Butler, Grey's Anamtomy, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Katherine Heigl, P.S. I love you, The Accidental Husband, Uma Thurman

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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