Hanging Up

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.

I rented this movie (`Hanging Up') and I found it devastatingly effective.

At the center of the movie is Meg Ryan, whose movies I've not seen a lot. Her character, Eve, is really the fulcrum on which the whole movie balances. Much as her character's car is boxed in by a parking-garage accident early in the movie, I got the feeling that the movie was a meditation on whether her life is of her own choosing and making, or whether it is something she has largely been trapped into.

Part of the art of the movie is, I feel, that the character doesn't really know. This isn't made explicit in dialogue -– rather, you can see it in her face as she repeatedly goes through situations in her life. And in her reactions to those situations, you can see the many little waves of emotion sweeping over her, all vying for the upper hand. It's as if she's perpetually trying to find her place and regain her balance.

And this may be what some people who saw the movie and didn't like it don't see: at times, you wonder if she's really going to crack. An example is the brilliantly conceived set of characters represented by Eve's mother (in a brief appearance by Cloris Leachman) and Eve's husband (who has slightly more screen time). Each very clearly rejects Eve's father. But, in doing so, each of them places, perhaps unwittingly, a huge demand on her. For Eve, to live in the world that is dictated by others' expectations and reactions, whether reasonable or unreasonable, is to deny herself. And yet, the paradox is that, while her continued interactions with her father and sisters represent a possibly destructive degree of self-denial, in all the caring she dispenses to others, she is her best self. Her use of the phone is the clear metaphor for that – she can't stand to stay on it, and yet she can't stand to stay off of it.

Diane Keaton's direction is very impressive in the movie, in my opinion. The staging and editing are first rate, and really frame the story beautifully. Her acting performance in the film is a little awkward, but her ability as a director to really get the actors to play with a subtlety and spontaneity in their reactions to each other (particularly in scenes between Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow) is very skilled.

I think that if a viewer sees the movie as just a light comedy or a succession of gags, they have really missed the point of what Diane Keaton is trying to do. I find that hard to fathom, because Meg Ryan's central performance clearly is meant to showcase the character's essential emotional confusion, and I feel like the direction emphasizes this repeatedly. Maybe some viewers are distracted by Meg Ryan's beauty, which may have had the effect of setting up some distance between themselves and the character. It could be argued that Keaton allowed Ryan to be so well dressed, often in extremely flattering outfits of pastel colors, that it's hard to take seriously that the character could be an emotional mess. Eve may have inadvertently been robbed of some of the character's gravitas as a result.

I see a lot of darkness in Walter Matthau's character as well, but the affection between him and the Meg Ryan character is also very clear. Adam Arkin contributes a fine supporting performance in the movie as Eve's husband. His character could have easily been so blandly cast that it would have sunk right into the background, but he is a confrontational, yet gentle, force in Eve's life, and helps call the question as to whether Eve's life is in the state it's in by her own choice or not.

So, to sum up, I think that to dismiss `Hanging Up' as a heartwarming bauble is to miss a lot. The central character is a woman that is pulled and tugged in so many directions, all in the midst of a life that looks deceptively normal given her stresses, but is really one that remains hers to define. By the end of the movie, you can see in Ryan's expressions (and judge for yourself) the degree to which she has, or has not, come to a level of acceptance about her lot.

Telemarketer irritation--that's the feeling I had when I watched Hanging Up, an almost cartoonishly clichéd "woman's movie." Diane Keaton's direction of this mess is so incompetent that I hope she never stands behind a camera again. The movie fails on every level--it bored my wife and daughter (and it's only because I'm anal about finishing movies that I sat through 95 minutes of Hell; they went to bed).

This was Walter Matthau's last movie, and it hurts to see such a premiere talent being wasted (although his toupee looks as if it could live on). Meg Ryan appears to have lost weight for Hanging Up (if that's possible) and seems to be carrying the mass of the world on her shoulders, physically dissipating in front of our eyes while wearing one paper-thin muscle shirt after another. Looking scrawny and bra-less isn't appealing to anyone.

Okay, enough for the nastiness. This really is a waste of film stock. Whatever BIG messages it has about sibling rivalry and familial relationships and keeping your accident from your insurance company are lost in Keaton's attempt to play cute and/or sweet (the dog and the pill; the Iranian mom).

The movie's called Hanging Up. My suggestion is to take the phone off the hook before the opening credits.

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. ** from ****

I saw the DVD because I knew it was Walter Matthau's last film, otherwise I would have skipped it. This was incredibly boring and stupid. Walter was the only one showing any talent. I realize that he was still living when the film was released but newer DVD's could show "in memory of Walter Matthau". By the way, the dvd has both wide screen and full screen. The full screen is better here because the widescreen version is not anamorphic, only masked.