secondtake Ira & Abby (2006)What a special sweet film about two people who meet, fall in love (totally and instantly), and make a go of marriage.Ira is played by Chris Messina who is disgruntled and ambitious, and he's really good at playing a mild and likable malcontent. He is going to therapy to find happiness, and getting nowhere.Abby is played by Jennifer Westfeldt and she's a sensation, a total gem on screen, scintillating and in her warm oddball way, utterly lovable. She is the opposite, of course, as movies like this require, which means she has no ambition and is utterly happy all the time. She's so happy she infects Ira with happiness--how simple is that?--and the whole movie, as well. And the audience. It's a kind of wonder how it works on everything. In a bad mood? See this movie.The best parts of the movie really show Abby's effect on Ira, on Ira's family, on strangers, and then, eventually, on herself as she has to face some unhappiness. An example scene will help--the couple are on the subway when a man with a gun sticks everyone up for money, maybe ten people. Abby sweetly (and without cornball excess, that's the wonder of it) asks him how much he needs. She'll give it to him. He's gradually mollified as she goes around collecting money from the other passengers and gets what he needs. He's suddenly willing to take a little less (this is the comedy, of course) and you see how in some bubble reality this kind of kindness might actually work. (She discovers him later with a job, and you sense that she saved him somehow by giving him that bit of sunshine.)Okay, you might wonder how to build a whole movie on this. Well, there are complications with the parents, who have various kinds of relationship problems themselves. No clues here. Eventually it's a comic can of worms and all very fun. Perfect? No, but excellent overall. I could watch it again, which says a lot for this kind of lightweight fare. Westfeldt deserves it.

chriscaulder In my opinion, Jennifer Westfeldt can do no wrong, as a writer/director and especially as an actress. Nothing but charisma. The girl of every neurotic guy's dreams.I just saw this movie in full on cable... I caught the very end several months ago and didn't know what the hell was happening, but, seeing it from the beginning... definitely better.The pace is just non-stop with this film... you can't catch your breath or think about what you just saw until the very end. That's SHARP writing and even sharper directing.... the acting just ties it all in.Beautiful film, great story, and wonderful characters.I'm ordering the DVD on Amazon right now.Thanks, Jennifer, for everything you do in film (Kissing Jessica Stein was my introduction to this truly talented woman).

T Y I liked this better when it was called about 20 other titles. Basically this steals the entire concept from Dharma and Greg with impunity. It was funnier as a sitcom. It was also more palatable in half hour bursts. Here the movie runs through about two and half romantic comedies worth of twists and situations, developing in an artistically random order. Half as many, with adequate writing would have been just fine. This showers viewers with clichés like a spring storm.The characters are dumb so they can keep doing ethically naive, behaviorally idiotic things. These strangle-able, irritating naifs stumble over cliché after cliché, and are so ignorant (as are fans of this crap) that they don't know they're clichés. Somehow there's still time for product placement. Skip it, it's not worth your time.

Alan Tompkins We saw the film at its LA Film Festival premier on June 23, and it is terrific! The film follows Ira (Chris Messina), a neurotic therapist-to-be through his chance meeting and resulting relationship with warm, free-spirited Abby (Jennifer Westfeldt). Messina's performance was convincing and great fun. Jennifer Westfeldt is more beautiful - and just as engaging - as she was in Kissing Jessica Stein. The combination of Judith Light and Robert Klein as Ira's parents was perfect. Klein's comedic timing is a great complement to Westfeldt's brilliant script. Fred Willard is Abby's dad, and his performance is terrific as well. This is the most intelligent and enjoyable romantic comedy that I have seen in years.