I really liked this film, but everything I have to say about it makes it sound lame. I guess you just have to see it to see for yourself. Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt play a couple with a 13 year old daughter and a capable business in New York. They own their apartment and the one next door and are just waiting for the tenant (80 year old Andra) to die so they can remodel and enlarge. As landlords, they are of course familiar with Andra's granddaughters who stop by often. For business, the two purchase portions of estates and then resell them in the lucrative modern furniture market that New York offers. The two grand daughters are polar opposites in many ways, and alternately appealing to adolescent Cathy. This really is a "slice of life" film (albeit a strange slice) and we get to see how different personalities are dealing with day-to-day life events and decisions. There are no heroes here, with every character having significant neurosis to deal with and only barely able to deal with them. And there is no story arc. We simply traverse the relational geography set before us until we get to the point 90 minutes later when we can get off, knowing that the characters will continue to struggle with their lives and relationships. And throughout the ride, I was laughing.
4 stars (out of 5)
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