SYNOPSICS
Hanging Up (2000) is a English movie. Diane Keaton has directed this movie. Diane Keaton,Meg Ryan,Lisa Kudrow,Walter Matthau are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2000. Hanging Up (2000) is considered one of the best Comedy,Drama movie in India and around the world.
Georgia Mozell, Eve Marks and Maddy Mozell are adult sisters. Georgia is the editor of her own wildly successful self-titled women's magazine. She strives for publicity at any cost. Party planner Eve is the mother hen of the group, not only of her own family, but also of her siblings and father as their mother, Pat, not only emotionally left their father when they divorced, but her daughters as well. And Maddy is a vacuous soap opera actress who has always struggled for her own identity. Despite being as busy with her own life as the others, Eve is the only one of the three who deals with the long term hospitalization of their cantankerous seventy-nine year old father, Lou Mozell, when he enters the early stages of dementia, and the associated outcomes of that hospitalization. Eve's caring for Lou is despite an especially hurtful incident with him seven years earlier. As the emotional aspect of looking after Lou becomes more and more stressful, Eve has to figure out how to maintain ...
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Hanging Up (2000) Reviews
Hated it, and then I loved it.
The first time I saw this movie, in the theater, I was too caught up in the unexpected awfulness of Eve's situation to be rational about my reaction. Only someone who has lived through an experience like this could possibly understand her feelings about her father, her selfish sisters, her truly horrible mother, while trying (unsuccessfully, but sincerely trying!!) to maintain some kind of family life with her husband and son. I loved the frequent flashbacks. I think this is a movie for the over-forty audience, because I'm not sure anybody else could understand it. The second time I watched it, I was able to concentrate more on the story, and the story is a good one. Sure, it's no knee-slapping comedy, but it never presented itself as such. It's almost too realistic in parts, if you've ever had a parent in this situation, you would understand. If you haven't yet reached that part of your life, there is no way you could possibly understand. The doctor's mother was a love of a person. I'd like to see her again. I wish I knew her in real life. And, the soundtrack is absolutely awesome. Jay McShann's "Once Upon A Time" is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. And when it was sung over the flashback of Eve's mother and father dancing, I cried through the whole scene. If you are seeking a comedy, seek elsewhere. If you are at that stage of your life where you are seeking a great mixture of comedy, tragedy, irony, and frustration (just like our real lives!) then go rent this movie tonight. Have some Kleenex handy.
Bumpy comedy-drama with insufficient changes in tone
The best scene in this Diane Keaton-directed film has drunken dad Walter Matthau showing up at a kid's birthday party bellowing and vulgar, but it doesn't belong in a comedy. It's more like something out of "Shoot The Moon", which Keaton starred in, and would fit much better in a film with a darker tone. "Hanging Up" wobbles around in search of appropriate emotions, but Keaton just can't get a consistent rhythm going. Her performance as the eldest of three unhappy sisters is also wan (she's winging it), however Meg Ryan as the middle sister has some fabulous moments: she hugs a coffee machine, she tries to convince her husband that driving a wrecked truck is going to work for her, she tells off her father but cries because she loves him. This is a performance well worth watching, but the picture definitely needed a director with a tighter grip on the reins. **1/2 from ****
Bittersweet In Many Ways
Some very good performances help this otherwise forgettable film about the relationship between the three daughters (played by Diane Keaton, Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow), of a dying man (Walter Matthau.) There isn't anything particularly noteworthy about the story itself. Told largely in flashback style, we see how the father-daughter relationship evolved over the years from a happy, loving one through the breakup of the parents and into the last days before Lou's death. The movie features fairly typical scenarios of the types of things that might cause family breakdowns (divorce, alcoholism, sibling rivalry, etc.) There are some humourous moments, but all in all I found myself largely disappointed by the story. As I mentioned, though, there were some good performances which lifted this from a bad one to the ranks of mediocre to average. Meg Ryan was particularly good as Eve, the daughter who bears most of the responsibility for caring for Lou. She's guilty of a bit of overacting at times, but is definitely worthy of the leading role. Walter Matthau played Lou very well - but, of course, he should have been accustomed to playing crotchety old men by that point in his career. There were some surprise performances as well. Lisa Kudrow demonstrated more acting ability than I expected from her based on having watched "Friends" a few times, and, in a very limited role, Duke Moosekian was really quite funny as Dr. Omar Kunundar, whose car Eve manages to damage in a car accident. On the negative side, I was also surprised by what I thought was a very below average performance by Diane Keaton (who also directed, and who, in my opinion, showed no great talent as a director.) She simply began to grate after a while. The best word I can come up with to describe this movie is bittersweet, both in the story of how a seemingly happy family turned out to be so consumed in anger and jealousy, and in the sense that the movie had possibilities, particularly in the strong performances I mentioned, that just didn't seem to add up to anything. Generously, I rated this as a 5/10.
Truly terrific motion picture filled with heart
My main motivation for renting this movie was to see Walter Matthau's final performance. Matthau was one of our most talented, all-around actors. It was sad to see him go, but his performance in this movie was a fine conclusion to his thriving career. I don't think he could've picked a better final role to play. And being that Matthau played a dying father, it was even more heartbreaking to watch. I didn't break into tears any time during the movie, but I came close to it quite a few times. First off, "Hanging Up" was pretty much marketed as a comedy. A fluffy romantic comedy, or chick-flick if you want to go with the stereotype. There are undeniably some very funny moments, but it's all done as comic relief. Overall, this is a sad, touching story that should hit home to many people who've had--or have--severed communications with their siblings or parents. I personally don't experience that in my family, but I know many who do. The father-daughter relationship, especially between Meg Ryan and Matthau, is brutally realistic. It's very touching to see how the two of them stick with each other through thick and thin, even through Dad's messy alcoholic rages. The other two sisters, Lisa Kudrow and Diane Keaton, have grown distant from their sick, elderly father with Alstheimer's Disease. While Ryan uses every ounce of her free time to visit her Dad in the hospital, the other sisters use their work as an excuse for never finding time. I've heard people say that the scenarios in this film are unrealistic. Well, as far as I understand, the movie is based on the real life relationships of the Ephron sisters (who wrote the screenplay). Of course, there's some witty dialogue and situations that were obviously thrown in for entertainment purposes, but it's all based on real life. Truth can be stranger than fiction. Besides, I wasn't once doubting the plausibility of the film. Maybe it's because I was so indulged in the characters and the spirited performances, but whatever it was--it worked. I have to say, I never thought Meg Ryan looked really attractive, before I saw her in "You've Got Mail." I liked her "When Harry Met Sally..." and some of her past movies, but she just had a conservative, housewifey appearance that never really did anything for me. Now she looks soooooooo cute with her straight blonde hair. Every minute she was on screen I just wanted to run up to the screen and kiss her! And may I say, she has a smile to die for. Walter Matthau is both entertaining and touching in an understated performance that he should be remembered for, not just because it was his last performance (Hell, I loved John Candy, but I'm not going to say his performance in "Wagon's East" was the greatest), but because it was a brilliant one. Not only does he make the funniest, sometimes vulgar and off-color, wisecracks but he's so likable. Yet he has an alcohol problem. Showing us that even the most likable people have their faults. You do feel the sisters' pain when (in a flashback) Matthau barges into his grandson's birthday party, completely drunk, yelling obscenities, humiliating everyone and finally destroying the party altogether and causing the kids to cry, but you also feel his pain when his daughter's husband (Adam Arkin) chases him out of the house and wants to make sure that he never sets foot in the house again. "Hanging Up" has everything you can possibly want in a film: humor, romance, sentiment, drama, moments of truth. Yet it's not delivered in a schmaltzy, "Lifetime" Movie of the Week format. And you leave with a good feeling in your heart. I definitely recommend this movie, especially since it reached a very scant audience in theaters. Just make sure you have the phone numbers of your sisters or fathers handy, because you're definitely gonna want to give them a call afterwards! My score: 7 (out of 10)
basic but amusing
OK, so, a lot of people are saying that they were disappointed, that it looked funny but wasn't, that there was more drama than comedy etc etc etc. BUT, I just have to point out, this movie isn't just listed as a COMEDY but also as a DRAMA, therefore, it is to be expected that there is a fair bit of drama involved in this movie. Just a forewarning: if you don't like flashbacks, don't watch this flick, it's full of 'em! This movie really amused me, and if you get it on DVD, watch the cutouts! I laughed myself silly.. the cast of this movie is brilliant (even if you're like me, and aren't the biggest fan of Diane Keaton). You have Meg Ryan, with another of her light comedies, Lisa Kudrow with another ditzy roll (lol), Diane Keaton in a role I would expect her to play in a comedy/drama and Walter Matthau, who always puts in a very amusing performance. It's a fun, light comedic/dramatic flick, full of flashbacks, with hilarious cutouts. I'd recommend it to anyone.. Have fun :-P