Please Give

Here’s one of those movies that drive me a little crazy. It is well-written by Nicole Holofcener, wonderfully acted by Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, and Rebecca Hall. It is funny, and sad, and emotionally complex. And I couldn’t connect with it. I wanted to like it, I almost feel guilty that I didn’t, much. Know what I mean? I liked parts of it very much. Maybe it’s a New York thing. There are many things I love about New York, but there is one thing I tend not to like: New Yorkers. That’s a gross exaggeration, but there are New York types I dislike very much. Hardly anyone in this movie is very likeable. The main couple run a hip furniture store and make their living going to estate sales to pick through the belongings of the dead, usually making a killing because the bereaved know nothing about the value of these pieces and only want to get it over with. In typical New York fashion, they have bought the apartment next door and plan to knock out walls to make more living space … but they have to wait for the 91-year-old harpy who still lives there to die. That’s about it for story. The wife is suffering guilt feelings, and hands out $20 bills to homeless street people. The granddaughters next door have their own problems. The daughter is suffering a massive case of zits. Like I said, there is much to like, and I’m sure a lot of people will find even more than I did.