Playing Mona Lisa (2000)

Director:

Matthew Huffman

Writers (WGA):

Marni Freedman (play)
Marni Freedman (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A young pianist is looking for love in all the wrong places once her fiancee drops her. Maybe her flame will be rekindled both for the piano and a new love?

Plot Keywords:

Earthquake | Pianist | Scrabble | Gay Friend | San Francisco California

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Alicia Witt	...	Claire Goldstein
Harvey Fierstein	...	Bennett
Brooke Langton	...	Sabrina
Johnny Galecki	...	Arthur
Ivan Sergei	...	Eddie / Carl / Ben
Marlo Thomas	...	Sheila Goldstein
Elliott Gould	...	Bernie Goldstein
Tammy Townsend	...	Alice
Molly Hagan	...	Jenine Goldstein
Estelle Harris	...	Aunt Velva
Pat Crawford Brown	...	Grandma Ida Weinberg
Zachary Kranzler	...	Jeremy
Joe Mazza	...	Barry / Bo
Sulo Williams	...	Manny
Sandra Bernhard	...	Bibi Carlson

Also Known As:

Two Goldsteins on Acid (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for drug content, sex-related dialogue and brief language.

Runtime:

USA:97 min | Brazil:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Hayes Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Bubble Factory, The

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Eddie takes Clair to the greenhouse for pizza, you can see a cameraman crouching behind leaves as they enter, even though he says they closed it a long time ago.

Quotes:

Bennett: I once heard someone say: "When you dim your light, so that someone else can shine, the whole world gets darker."

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

TV sitcom quality chick flick

Claire (Witt) is having trouble getting her concert piano career on track thanks to a semi-functional family, romantic woes, and kookie friends. "Playing Mona Lisa" is a formula sitcom quality flick full of cliche characters with just enough of a creative edge to keep me from thumbing the fast-forward button. There's little new here and nothing to get excited about. However, "Playing Mona Lisa" might be worth a look for the couch potato surfing for chick flix. (C)