Complicados & Apaixonados

First off, a big thank you to all the people who have voted for and/or reviewed this film.

I wanted to buy a film I had not seen on DVD. I went to my local HMV and selected a long list of titles I knew little or nothing about. Two Nina's had the most impressive voting breakdown, as of today, noone voted below 4, and the curve of votes is highest at 10, exponentially down to 4.

So I went and bought it. I watched it, I loved it. The only member of cast that was familiar was the lead actor, whom I saw in Office Space, which I enjoyed.

Two Ninas is a romantic comedy. One of the best you will come across. Guy meets two girls falls for both and the film, together with some smart scripting and simple direction, completely involves you in the characters involved the pathos and vitality of the situation.

Personally I think he made the wrong choice. Choose the girl with the similar interests and full of pent up frustration, or choose the girl with the common attitude of not being 100% sure what she wants from the relationship, and is helping it to its natural conclusion...

I think in a burgeoning relationship, both sides should not try to force the issue.

The point is the film creates these kind of talking points, and a film that does that is a film worth seeing again, and again....

I gave it a nine out of ten. It lost the one point because I wanted to see more. A follow up called two Ninas two??? Works for me!!!

I saw this film last night at the Chicago Alt.film Fest, and I have to say I thought it was one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in a long time. The plot was interesting, the characters were all very real people (for a change) and you can't help but really like everyone in the film. I greatly enjoyed it. If you get a chance to see it, I recommend it highly.

My bias is not to expect a "finished product" from a first time film-maker, but this is a real surprise. It is well scripted, well cast and acted, with excellent cinematography and editing- it's tight and concise, without wasted screentime, and the storyline should delight any viewer. Not a "big" film, not a "blockbuster," but, rather, a truly wonderful entertainment, that moves this viewer to want to come back for more.

Ron Livingston hasn't been in a relationship in some time. So when he finds himself dating two beautiful women - Cara Buono and Amanda Peet - who are both named Nina, it takes him some time to sort out his feelings.

Writer-director Neil Turitz first movie offers some insight to dating in New York in the 1990s as a sort of sexual battlefield, in which only one prisoner is taken, and for some reason, reminds me of the better known CHASING AMY... sexual obsession of nice guys causing them to act inappropriately perhaps. The script is a low-key deadpan comedy, and pretty good on those terms, but Turitz seems to lack confidence that the audience will sympathize with Livingston, so he has best friend Bray Poor pop up every ten minutes or so to explain the protagonist's confusion to some guy in a bar. Why this couldn't have been handled by having Livingston express his dilemma to Poor is beyond me.

The plot in Two Ninas doesn't break any new ground, in fact it's pretty unoriginal and predictable, but it's not the plot that pulls you in. The likeable characters that Ron Livingston and Nina Buono portray, along with very memorable writing that resembles "Swingers" and "Office Space" make it a great watch. Ron Livingston's parts just keep getting better (the slouch-shouldered, down-on-his-luck, lonely twenty-something); and who is this Nina Buono? So brew some coffee, get some smokes, and watch this movie while you drown in your own self-pity.