'IRA & ABBY' INDULGES IN PERFECT-WOMAN MYTH.Byline: GLENN WHIPP WHIPP WhiteWater Head Impact Protection Project >FILM CRITIC "So do you wanna wan·na Informal 1. Contraction of want to: You wanna go now? 2. Contraction of want a: You wanna slice of pie? have sex?" Free-spirited French-fry eater Abby (Jennifer Westfeldt) poses the question to schlubby Ira (Chris Messina Chris Messina could refer to:
They're in Abby's office at a Manhattan gym. Ira came in looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a membership. He leaves with a smile on his face and the promise of a lifetime commitment. "Ira & Abby" is the latest in a long, long line of movies and TV shows about neurotic Jewish guys falling for loopy shiksas. It's a genre usually written and directed by neurotic Jewish guys who have either fallen for a loopy shiksa shik·sa also shik·se n. Offensive Used as a disparaging term for a non-Jewish girl or woman. [Yiddish shikse, feminine of shegetz, shegetz; see shegetz. or have it on their "Things to Do Someday (Please, God, Please)" list. What (barely) distinguishes "Ira & Abby" is that it was written by a woman (Westfeldt). Though, strangely enough, Westfeldt's authorship does little to make Abby anything more than a fantasy creation, a perfect woman so devoid of human imperfections that you can never understand what a saint like her is doing with a schmo schmo or schmoe also shmo n. pl. schmoes also shmoes Slang A stupid or obnoxious person. [From Yiddish shmok, penis, fool; see schmuck. like Ira. Of course, some people wondered the same thing about Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen in Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up." But Apatow's writing is smart, funny and true, qualities that override lingering doubts you might have about believability. Westfeldt, who co-wrote and starred in "Kissing Jessica Stein," adheres more to standard sitcom constructs, which aren't unappealing, just redundant. Ira (Messina resembles Apatow, by the way) and the intense Abby meet, she proposes marriage (and sex) on that first day, and if you're Ira, what are you going to say? Abby has made him an offer he can't refuse. Of course, there should be reason to suspect that Abby isn't all she seems. That behind this woman who wants to have sex every day and has such a way with people that she's able to talk a subway mugger mugger: see crocodile. into giving back money, there are some serious psychological issues. She's just too good to be true, right? In a literal sense, yes, she is too good to be true. Which is a huge problem. There are no fewer than five psychiatrists in the movie -- including Ira's parents, played by Robert Klein (marvelous) and Judith Light -- but none of them is able to puncture a hole in Saint Abby's facade. Not that they try. "Ira & Abby" wants to explore the state of modern marriage, but finds the allure of romantic-comedy fantasies impossible to resist. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com IRA & ABBY - Two stars >R: language, some sexual content. >Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina. >Director: Robert Cary. >Running time: 1 hr. 41 min. >Playing: Laemmle's Town Center 5 in Encino; Laemmle's Playhouse 7 in Pasadena; the Landmark in West Los Angeles
>In a nutshell: More "Dharma dharma (där`mə). In Hinduism, dharma is the doctrine of the religious and moral rights and duties of each individual; it generally refers to religious duty, but may also mean social order, right conduct, or simply virtue. and Greg" than "Annie Hall." CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Jennifer Westfeldt and Chris Messina star in the unconvincing tale of a neurotic Jewish man who finds the perfect -- although not Jewish -- woman in "Ira & Abby." |
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