If I Were You (2013)

Wonderful Movie

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"If I Were You" is brilliantly funny. The writing is clever, fresh and funny. And the directing brings out hilarious performances. I just wonder why I never heard of the film before yesterday. Marcia Gay Harden shakes from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet - as women do when they learn their husbands are having an affair. And her immediate actions start a comedic snowball that she just can't get away from. Without giving a spoiler, just wait until you see her at work. Best and most honest conference room scene ever. I read a few reviews of "If I Were You" by some clueless movie critics who must be so entrenched in the Hollywood machine they just wouldn't know a truly funny movie if it slapped them in the face. Why only a 9? (1) It is a bit long for an easy Saturday night watch-after-the- kids-are-in-bed movie. (2) the bottle of scotch gag goes on too long. Other than that -- I love it. The previous night I watched Nancy Meyers "The Holiday" and agonized through the first lame, predictable hour before it got interesting - I say "If I were You" is much better written and directed. So watch it. I'm a little embarrassed that I never heard of this writer-director before, but then Hollywood has made a full-time job of pushing intelligent women and their intelligent films to the side so that some truly horrible men can stay in control.

Marcia Gay Hardin is out of this world fabulous in "If I Were You" from 2012.Hardin is Madelyn, a married career woman who finds out her husband is having an affair with a young woman - she spots them at a restaurant. Panicked as her husband leaves the restaurant, she ducks into a store, and so does the girlfriend Lucy (Lenore Watling).Madelyn spots her rival buying a rope and booze, so she follows her home to make sure she isn't committing suicide, which she is. The two talk and become friends, though Madelyn has a hidden agenda. The two make a pact about their men (the same man) - each will tell the other what to do about her problem.Then, by complete accident, Madelyn and Lucy are cast in a production of King Lear, even though Madelyn is not an actress. Madelyn is Lear.I love the story - it's fresh, it's funny; it's also poignant, sad, and inspiring. The acting is terrific. Hardin really carries the film with her comedy coming out as a result of her character's situation. Nothing put on or going for laughs. It's streaming on Netflix. Though it drags a little in the middle, keep with it and whatever you do, don't miss King Lear.

Staid, even-keeled Madelyn gets the shock of her life when she discovers, quite by accident, that her husband of many years is cheating on her with a much younger woman. Then, through a series of complicated events, she winds up as the confidante and adviser to her husband's mistress who has no idea who Madelyn is. In fact, the two women both make a pact - Madelyn with full knowledge of what she's doing and Lucy wholly in the dark - that they will leave all their major life decisions up to the other person - an ostensibly more dispassionate and objective person - so as to avoid incurring any more self-inflicted mistakes in their lives.Written and directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin, "If I Were You" plays much like a modern-day Feydeau farce, its humor based on a complex web of interconnected coincidences, misunderstandings and strategically withheld information. It's a clever, insightful little comedy that, by carrying its ironies and implausibilities to an almost absurd level, manages to make us face - and, even more amazingly, laugh at - just how real and cutting the pain caused by infidelity, romantic relationships and even platonic friendships can be. But the movie also deals with such heady themes as deceit, betrayal, hypocrisy, self-worth and a woman's place in the world, all without breaking a sweat. In fact, this becomes a growth experience for Madelyn who soon learns that she has a purpose and identity of her own apart from wife to a cheating husband.It's true that the movie sometimes feels like it's a beat or two off in its more broadly comic moments (especially early on the film) and the ending rates as a bit of a cheat and copout, but those weaknesses are easily overlooked amidst fine performances by Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Watling, Joseph Kell and Aidan Quinn and an overall wisdom about how life works.

This is one of the most entertaining and downright funny films I have been privileged to watch in the past several years. Plot twists and turns come fast and are unexpected. Marcia Gay Harden leads an impeccable cast of interesting, quirky and all too human characters that include Aiden Quinn. The writing is simply exceptional. The dialog is as witty and hilarious as it comes, and come it does, non-stop. Joan-Carr Wiggin, who is both writer and director, smashes this one clean out of the park. I doubt you'll find yourself glancing at your iPhone or Blackberry during this film. This film is but another vehicle that demonstrates the versatility, cleverness, and command that a seasoned actor like Ms. Harden can bring to a role. Watching the interaction of the actors is much like watching the intricately choreographed dance numbers of a Twyla Tharp. Once this goes into general release, expect to see Marcia Gay Harden walk away with a Best Actress Oscar.