''She's So Lovely'' is a 1997 American

romantic drama film Romance films 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. Typically their ...

written by

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

and directed by his son Nick Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first (and still only) 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 is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

and

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

as two men who bid for the affection of Maureen Murphy Quinn (

Robin Wright Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress, producer and director. She has received accolades including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for eight Primetime Emmy Awards. Wright first gained attention for her role ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' Dilling ...

co-stars as a friend of Penn's character, and

James Gandolfini James John Gandolfini (; September 18, 1961June 19, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007 ...

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

as Eddie Quinn *

as Maureen Murphy Quinn *

as Joey Giamonti *

as Tony "Shorty" Russo * Debi Mazar as Georgie *

as Kiefer * David Thornton as Saul Sunday * Susan Traylor as Lucinda * Bobby Cooper as Cooper * John Marshall Jones as Leonard * Kelsey Mulrooney as Jennie * Neill Barry as Michael *

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (; June 19, 1930 – August 14, 2024) was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy, Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and ...

as Miss Jane Green * Chloe Webb as Nancy Swearingen * James Soravilla as Avi * Jamie Bozian as Intern #1 (as James Bozian) * Paul Johansson as Intern #2 * Justina Machado as Carmen Rodriguez as Lady Ticket Taker * Tito Larriva as Lead Singer

Reception

Critical response

Movie critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

rated the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'': "What ick Cassavetesunderstands is that if you want to see true weirdness, you don't look along

skid row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

, where the motives are pretty easy to understand, but out in

suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

, 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 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

'', 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

won the award for Best Actor at the

1997 Cannes Film Festival The 50th Cannes Film Festival took place from 7 to 18 May 1997. French actress Isabelle Adjani served as jury president for the main competition. Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to Iran ...

received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role at the 4th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

References

External links

* * {{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 English-language romantic drama films English-language independent films