Terrific film - really realistic and charming love story and take on the lives of people whom have more depth and sensitivity than our culture usually accepts. Characters were well developed, except for Jenna Fisher's which was my only disappointment. Some people in life really are just quiet, and can be swept away by life or by the pushiness of others (even those well intentioned), and she did a great job communicating her thought processes through her face and her eyes. As a viewer, I could see what she wasn't about it and I appreciated that, but it was hard to see what she was about exactly - what her dreams and motivations were other than survival - and I thought the scene where she disclosed her being adopted in the diner could have been elaborated on. While the other characters were given opportunities to have some revealing moments of dialogue, her disclosures were through her sad and thoughtful facial expressions and eyes, which at the end, when she finally took control of her life, became a great big smile that lit up her face. But when her character did finally have her say to her sister in the movie theatre, I was hoping for a little more depth. The best moment of success, I think, is where Jenna's character finally decides she is tired of standing quietly behind the juice cart (and her life as the world goes by) and marches into her bosses' office and finds her voice, with a positive outcome. It's the culmination of several passed over moments in the movie where as a viewer, I wanted her to speak up for herself, and finally she does, and really, it's a moment her life changes for the better, a challenge we can all relate to, especially those of us that are more quiet and sensitive by mainstream society's standards.
Chris Messina's character was about self expression and helping others connect and reflect in gentle ways, and Topher Grace's character, while less noble, was an interesting contrast in also having an influence in others but in a notorious way. Chris Messina was adorable as an artistic type, one of the good guys, trying to fit into a materialistc world, Topher Grace nailed the narcissistic perfectly, and Malick Ackerman played the quintessential well meaning sister whom doesn't really see the main character (her big sister) but tries to fix her "failings", which were really just a lack of superficial culture acceptance. A great scene that shows this is the day Jenna Fisher's character is evicted from her apartment and moving into her sister's spare bedroom in a nice house, feeling like a failure, and Malina's character is following her around drinking a store bought coffee, reading about celebrity breakups on her phone. Another great scene is where the two main characters have just made love and they are agreeing they are okay about getting serious about each other, with all the careful vulnerability of two people who have been hurt but really see and accept each other- very sweet and satisfying, and a moment of genuine success for them we get to witness. Really enjoyed and would definitely recommend.
