Uma Segunda Chance

"Every Day" may feel a little stale because isn't that how life is supposed to be when everything is the same routine? The family dramedy is an over-worked genre, but this film overcomes the monotony with some clever humour and great performances.

Ned (Liev Schreiber) is just yet another lead character who is having a hard time dealing with his teenage son, losing connection with his frustrated wife, and getting annoyed with his demanding boss. But Schreiber is a good actor, and despite all these rather dull character traits, he made Ned quite likable and enjoyable. The implied depth to Helen Hunt's stressed-out wife, is more than made up for with the wonderfully comedic and sympathetic Ezra Miller. He plays their teenage son who has recently come "out of the closet". Similar to his role in "City Island", he's a scene-stealer with a bright future in the comic drama genre. Eddie Izzard as Ned's demanding boss is more outrageous than you would expect him to be and adds some life to this film about life's problems.

I was impressed enough with the sharp comedy that rose above the flat story lines, and with the accomplished actors who rose above the tedium of the characters, that I can recommend "Every Day". It's independent, but not original, but significantly better than how it comes across.

What if what you thought you were missing in life you already had? A writer for a TV show, Ned (Schreiber) is stuck in a job where his boss demands more and more strange things. His wife Jeannie (Helen Hunt) has just brought her father home to take care of. His son is gay and Ned is trying to avoid admitting it, and his co-worker (Gugino) is another reason his life is spinning out of control. So many movies and TV shows come out that claim to be true to life, or "Reality Shows", they usually turn out to be so over the top they end up borderline spoofing the stars. This is one huge exception. While not being a reality show at all, this is the most true to life movie I have seen in a while. It was depressing in parts, but again because it seemed like they just took a family and watched how they live and made a movie from it, without changing anything. Ned is stuck trying to sort out what his life has become that he finds himself trying to be someone he isn't. This movie is another glaring example of how unless you have a $200 million budget and your movie make $400 million in theaters you will get no recognition or advertising. There are no big name stars in here like Tom Cruise or Katherine Heigle, and because of only casting good actors and relying on script and acting, it gets overlooked. Which is a travesty. I give it an A.

Would I watch again? - Yes I would, but again it would lose some of the effect.

Richard Levine's 'Every Day' takes a slice of life look at Ned and Jeannie's family life. Their monotonous life is further disrupted when Jeannie's grumpy father, after the death of his wife. Levine tells the story with sincerity but it feels very familiar. It bares some resemblance to movies like 'The Savages' and 'Little Children'. I liked the angle with the teen son who gets lured into sneaking out at night to meet a guy at a disco and yet he's strong-minded enough to refuse drugs. The dynamic between him and his father, especially concerning his homosexuality is portrayed effectively. The struggle between Jeannie and her father is well-depicted. The characters are well-written. The lines are witty and funny but the plot is contrived and very predictable. The Eddie Izzard track felt like an attempt to be quirky and it hardly contributes much to the main story other than providing some comic relief. It's good to see Helen Hunt back. She performs naturally. Brian Dennehy is brilliant and the two child actors are good too. Carla Gugino is spot on. Liev Schreiber and Eddie Izzard are passable.

Overall, it may be a typical slice of life family drama but still worth the watch mostly because of the way it portrays certain themes, sharp dialogue and good performances

"Every Day" tells the tale of a couple going through a midlife crisis. Ned (Liev Schreiber), is a man on the brink of a mental breakdown. You see life isn't easy for Ned as he is dealing with a boat load of problems. He is bored with his screen writing job, he is dealing with trying to accept that his son Jonah (Ezra Miller) is gay, and on top of all this his marriage is falling apart. His wife Jeannie (Helen Hunt) has her own issues as she is responsible for taking care of her father Ernie (Brian Dennehy) who is dying and trying to save her marriage with her husband Ned who doesn't seem to give her the time of day. Life isn't easy for Ned and Jeannie but what happens in "Every Day" is an interesting look on the subject of marriage and life in general.

I saw "Every Day" at the "World Premiere" screening at the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday April 24, 2010. I basically went into this film knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it starred Helen Hunt, Carla Gugino, and Liev Schreiber all of which are solid actors. What I got out of the film was an interesting look at life and marriage written by a man named Richard Levine, who is a first time screen writer and director.

One of my favorite things about the film was the whole workplace scenario that Ned was placed in. This subplot to me proved to be realistic. This was one of those films where I felt it did a good job capturing how too much work can destroy your life outside of work. It also shows that life as an adult isn't easy and is a balancing act with everything that gets thrown your way. The subjects of marriage, having children, having a sick parent, cheating, working too much, and a few other subjects all get looked at in the film.

My problem however with the film was that I wasn't sure what was going on in the end of the film. It felt like the movie had a conclusion but it really didn't. I guess the film had one of those "life happens" endings. The subject matter of cheating was never really talked about, which bothered me because it seemed to be one of the key focuses of the film. While the film itself felt real like these characters exist in the real world something about how everything ended did not. I can't really explain it but its just something that blurred the line of fiction and reality. I like that aspect of it and I didn't at the same time.

The characters were all good as well as the development of them. Liev Schreiber did a great job in the lead role. I really felt his struggles as a parent and as a married man to devote his time to the right people. Helen Hunt does a good job as well dealing with her marriage and with her father's obsession with wanting to die. Brian Dennehy performance is solid but that's no surprise because he has been a solid actor for many years now. You really did however feel for what he was going through. Carla Gugino makes a nice supporting role appearance here, playing the sexy "screen writer" with her eye on Ned. Carla's role really isn't as deep as I would have liked it to be but Carla has a knack for playing the sexy coworker role. She was perfectly cast to play the role she played. The kids Ezra Miller and Skyler Fortgang both do a terrific job on screen and I am sure they will have a lot more roles coming their way in the near future.

In the end...I liked the film for what it was. It had some issues here and there but coming from a first time writer and director that was bound to happen. It was a valid effort and the film itself is interesting and realistic for the most part. The acting was good and the roles were well written. As I mentioned above, some things about the film blurred the lines between reality and fiction. The film's ending is its weakness in my humble opinion. Not saying that it was bad but just didn't impress me and left me rather indifferent about what I just watched. All in all, I would recommend it because it was a solid film about life and the famous midlife crisis. Check it out when it hits theaters! MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Every Day" is a 7 out of 10.

love the actors! v. good material! another well projected picture about today's 'responsible' couple. the hard pressed, nonetheless, flavorful tofu slices between the very nearly 24/7 'all encumbering' pieces of bruschetta... work/household responsibilities/needs & children. yes, this picture proves all too well that the 2 tofu slices, representing the resilient companions, are even unfairly (life fair, huh!) separated by the 3rd slice of current life, fading parent(s).. ringing so true for those who can't/won't send their children to boarding school &/or their parents to a well equipped senior home.

wish the story could have had more time for the couple to be the beatles to what brought them together in the 1st place. if given more script, hunt & shcreiber would have shown a terrific journey to remind us how to 'get back' to the tender & kind love for your companion.