Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Enough Said

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for crude and sexual content, comic violence, language and partial nudity.

Reviewed by: Leonard Capobianco
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Romance Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 33 min.
Year of Release: 2013
USA Release: September 18, 2013 (limited)
October 11, 2013 (wide)
DVD: January 14, 2014
Copyright, Fox Searchlight Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Fox Searchlight Pictures

difficulties of being a single parent

empty nest / a parent dreading her daughter’s impending departure for college

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE—Under what conditions may Christians divorce and remarry? Answer

divorce in the Bible

What does it mean to be “the husband of one wife”? Answer

the mess that often comes with getting romantically involved again

Sex, Love and Relationships
Learn how to make your love the best it can be. Discover biblical answers to questions about sex, marriage, sexual addictions, and more.
Featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus … Eva
James GandolfiniAlbert
Toni ColletteSarah
Catherine KeenerMarianne
Tavi Gevinson … Chloe
Lennie Loftin … Martin (Massage Client)
Jessica St. Clair … Cynthia (Massage Client)
Chris Smith … Hal (Massage Client)
See all »
Director Nicole Holofcener — “Lovely & Amazing,” “Please Give,” “Friends with Money”
Producer Fox Searchlight Pictures
Likely Story
See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures. Trademark logo.
Fox Searchlight Pictures, a sister company of 20th Century Fox, a division of The Walt Disney Company

Empty guns firing empty bullets. This film is tauted as a romantic comedy, but the laughs and the romance are paper thin. Hollywood is consistent in producing another superficial film about a superficial relationship.

This was James Gandolfini’s next-to-last film before he died of a heart attack. Too bad. He was an excellent actor, and I wish he could have left better final work.

Gandolfini plays Albert, an affable divorced single parent who shares custody of his daughter. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Eva another divorced single parent.

Gandolfini is a much better actor than Dreyfus, and she ends up looking miscast. There appears to be no real chemistry between the two.

Both Albert and Eva are empty nesters. Their daughters are going off to college. Eva is sending her daughter to Sarah Lawrence College—that fortress of morality. (“For many years, the College has been considered as being at the vanguard of the sexual rights movement.” —Wikipedia) So what does that tell you about her.

Eva’s daughter has a friend who believes Eva has good parental advice and so asks if she should “go all the way” with a boy. Eva’s advice?… “Do what you feel is right, dear.” Wow, great wisdom to impart on a 16 year old.

PURITY—Should I save sex for marriage? Answer

lust and fornication in the Bible

My boyfriend wants to have sex. I don’t want to lose him. What should I do? Answer

Eva befriends Mariane, played by Catherine Keener. Marianne seems to have her life together as a poet living in a nice house. But she has the unpleasant trait of constantly “ragging” on her ex-husband.

***SPOILER*** Eva (Louis-Dreyfus) becomes romantically involved with Albert (Gandolfini), and it turns out he is Marianne’s ex. Eva seems to enjoy her relationship with Albert, but Marianne’s complaints about him begin to taint the relationship—even though neither Marianne or Albert know Eva is a mutual friend. ***END SPOILER***

In Matthew 7:24 Jesus warns us not to build our house on sand. Eva and Albert’s relationship does just that. There is sex between them, and they go out to dinner and laugh a lot together, but the relationship is so superficial—nothing more in common than being divorced and having daughters going away to college. Their conversations have no real substance, except to lament their former spouses and losing their children—and control of their children.

2 Corinthians 6:14 advises that, as Christians, we shouldn’t be mismatched with unbelievers. In this film we have two unbelievers matched. There is no spirituality, no mention of love, let alone God.

Albert and Eva’s having sex and going out to dinner together seems to be writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s vision of a “funny touching romance,” as the advertising states. I never heard either Albert or Eva say they admired or respected one another. At one point Eva says Albert’s “OKAY.” From Albert, we never hear that Eva is “far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her… She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue… a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31).

So the question remains, how can two people truly get along unless they have mutual respect and mutual beliefs? Where is their anchor? For Christian couples, the anchor is faith—a shared belief in Christ. So when they build their house together on that rock of ages, when the rain falls, the floods come, and the winds blow, their house will not fall.

But Albert and Eva’s house is built on sand. When the rain falls, the winds blow and the floods come, great will be its fall (Matthew 7:24-27).

I must be fair to non-followers of Christ. If the shallow type of relationship put forward in this film is what you want, then Albert and Eva is what you get. But if you want to have deep and true love based on admiring your partner’s character and morals—based on substance, personal commitment, mutual faith—then would you want Albert and Eva as your role model?

TRUE LOVE—What is true love and how do you know when you have found it? Answer

Violence: None / *Profanity: Heavy—“Oh my G*d” (17), “God” (7), “My G*d” (5), “Oh G*d” (4), “Jesus,” “Jesus Christ,” “Oh Jesus,” “G*d d*mn,” “Swear to G*d,” “hell,” f-word (1), s-words (9), and various vulgar sexual references including “boner,” “hole,” “boobs,” “ass” / Sex/Nudity: Moderate to heavy

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Neutral
Neutral—I don’t go to movies to see role models. I go to have a new perspective on our world, on the reality around us, and it is not necessarily a pretty picture. This is indeed a movie that ignores all precepts of traditional morality. People go to bed with each other at the drop of a hat. However, I think both lead actors do a good job of showing the misery of divorce and the fragility of new relationships. There are interesting dynamics in this movie, and I enjoyed how the story unfolded, with Eva not knowing that Albert is the ex-husband of Marianne and all the mistakes that tumble out after that.

The script is pleasantly complex, showing Eva as a hard working woman and Albert as a vulnerable man who seem to like being together and plunge too quickly into an affair. This movie shows what is going on in our Godless society, and sadly, people approach intimacy in a reckless way that leads to broken hearts. I think the script shows tragedy and the consequences of morally weak people. There are some pleasant moments that are not offensive. The characters are well textured. This is quite an interesting independent film for a mature and discerning audience.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Halyna Barannik, age 67 (USA)
Negative
Negative—Hollywood’s version of romance: Going out to dinner; small talk; have a few laughs; go to bed and have sex; and please don’t say to your partner that you admire their intellect, morality, or Christian Maturity. What more can I say? I am surprised some viewers have categorized this film for mature audiences. What’s so “mature” about an immature, shallow relationship? A discerning Christian wouldn’t waste their time on this flick.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Lois, age 64 (USA)

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