''She's So Lovely'' is a 1997 American
romantic drama film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...
directed by
Nick Cassavetes
Nicholas David Rowland Cassavetes (born May 21, 1959) is an American actor, director, and writer. He has directed such films as ''She's So Lovely'' (1997), ''John Q.'' (2002), ''The Notebook'' (2004), '' Alpha Dog'' (2006), and '' My Sister's Kee ...
, written by
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...
. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first (and still only) posthumous film to feature previously unreleased material from John Cassavetes.
The film stars
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
and
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
as the respective men who bid for the affection of Maureen Murphy Quinn (
Robin Wright
Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television.
Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...
).
Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...
co-stars as a friend of Penn's character, and
James Gandolfini
James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Scree ...
plays the abusive neighbor.
Plot
Eddie Quinn's unruly wife Maureen drinks and smokes to excess, even though she is pregnant. Eddie has troubles of his own, disappearing for days at a time. When she is physically and sexually assaulted by Kiefer, a neighbor, it is more than Eddie can handle. He shoots someone and lands in a psychiatric hospital.
Ten years go by. Eddie finally returns, only to find Maureen is now a clean, sober, solid citizen, married to a new man, Joey, and a mother of three children, one of whom is Eddie's own daughter. Eddie's return complicates and endangers all of their lives.
Cast
*
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
as Eddie Quinn
*
Robin Wright
Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television.
Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...
as Maureen Murphy Quinn
*
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...
as Joey Giamonti
*
James Gandolfini
James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Scree ...
as Kiefer
*
Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer.
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including '' Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroe ...
as Tony "Shorty" Russo
*
Neill Barry
Neill Barry (born November 29, 1965) is an American film, television and stage actor, as well as an occasional screenwriter.
Barry was born in New York City, New York. He made his acting debut at the age of thirteen in Martin Davidson's film ...
as Michael
*
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), ''Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''Si ...
as Georgie
*
Gena Rowlands
Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...
as Miss Jane Green
*
Susan Traylor
Susan Traylor is an American actress. She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in '' Valerie Flake'' (1999). Traylor's starring role in ''Valerie Flake'' also won the inaugural best feature ...
as Lucinda
* Bobby Cooper as Cooper
*
John Marshall Jones
John Marshall Jones is an American actor, best known for portraying Floyd Henderson on The WB sitcom ''Smart Guy''. He is currently the spokesperson for Pizza Hut.
Career
Since 2021, Jones has had a recurring role as U.S. Air Force General Nel ...
as Leonard
*
Chloe Webb
Chloe Webb (born June 25, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Sid and Nancy'' (1986), ''The Belly of an Architect'' (1987), ''Twins (1988 film), Twins'' (1988), and ''Heart Condition (film), Heart Condition'' (1 ...
as Nancy Swearingen
* James Soravilla as Avi
* Jamie Bozian as Intern #1 (as James Bozian)
*
Paul Johansson
Paul Joseph Otto Johansson (born January 26, 1964) is an American-born Canadian actor and director in film and television, best known for playing Dan Scott on the WB/ CW series, ''One Tree Hill'', and for his role as Nick Wolfe on the short l ...
as Intern #2
*
Justina Machado
Justina Milagros Machado (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress, known for her roles as Penelope Alvarez on the Netflix and Pop TV sitcom '' One Day at a Time'', Darci Factor in The CW dramedy ''Jane the Virgin'', Vanessa Diaz on the HBO ...
as Carmen Rodriguez as Lady Ticket Taker
*
Tito Larriva
Humberto "Tito" Larriva (born 1953) is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the T ...
as Lead Singer
Reception
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 41 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote: "What
ick Cassavetes
Ick or ICK may refer to:
* William Ick, (1800–1844), botanist
*Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, a single-celled parasite. Also known as Ich
*Inhibitor cystine knot
*Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
*Trains in the Netherlands, Intercit ...
understands is that if you want to see true weirdness, you don't look along skid row, where the motives are pretty easy to understand, but out in suburbia, where those green lawns can surround human time bombs."
Writing in
Time Out New York
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
,
Andrew Johnston remarked: "Watching the films of John Cassavetes now, one is struck by how complex and human his characters are, compared with those in even the most sophisticated of today's independent films. This effect is even more pronounced in ''She's So Lovely,'' an unproduced Cassavetes script given the '90s treatment and filled with stars by the late director's son. The final product features some of the year's best performances...."
Awards
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
won the award for
Best Actor at the
1997 Cannes Film Festival
The 50th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1997 in film, 1997. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to ''Taste of Cherry, Ta'm e guilass'' by Abbas Kiarostami and ''The Eel (film), Unagi'' by Shohei Imamura. Jeanne Moreau was the mistre ...
.
Robin Wright
Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television.
Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...
received a nomination for
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the
4th Screen Actors Guild Awards
The 4th Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 1997, took place on March 8, 1998. The ceremony was held at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California, and was telev ...
.
References
External links
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{{Nick Cassavetes
1997 films
1997 romantic drama films
American independent films
American romantic drama films
Films directed by Nick Cassavetes
1997 independent films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films