The tagline on this movie is: "Sex is easy
love is not." However I don't think it quite fits with the film. The film revolves around Katie, a young woman who has never had trouble landing casual flings, but real relationships elude her. She seems to think the problem is the type of men she attracts, although later comes to realise that a part of the problem is surely the way she so easily falls into bed with men, rather than getting to know the men and making them respect her rather than use her. Enter two main love interests, a handsome man who used to be her teacher who she has always crushed on, and a move average looking guy who is actually a nice guy. Marguerite Moreau is the star in this film and plays her part very well. I was impressed with her performance. The other actors are all good too. If I had one gripe it is that this film tangles all the characters into this weird web of love/romance./sex far too conveniently for it to be realistic. Katie's sister spends half the film 'happily married' but ends up in love with one of Katie's initial love interests. What kind of sister doesn't at least feel a bit awkward about dating your sister's ex? So aside from the contrived nature of the plot that insists on mixing the characters up so much it becomes too much, I enjoyed the film. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the actors in the film.
28 Reviews
Fun for about an hour.
el_nickster26 September 2005
Miss it, unless you have an awful lot of spare time.
This film is about the love life of "Jamie," who is the title character. Jamie is a 20-something woman who sleeps with every guy in sight. Yup, she's easy all right. She generally seems to be okay with that. However, her random hook-ups just aren't satisfying her of late. She decides to launch into a period of celibacy, just like the main character in the mainstream film "40 Days and 40 Nights." In the mean time, her friends and relatives pair up, get pregnant, and get married in unusual combinations.
While Jamie's wild ways last, this is a cute and fun movie. The characters seem slightly more genuine than usual. Jamie's sex scenes are awfully hot. However, the film quickly looses steam for lack of any sort of real plot. Well, a meandering plot less Indy film is no rarity, but the script then tries to keep us interested by springing "cheap drama" out of every futon in LA. Out of nowhere there are pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, gay marriages, inter-color marriages, geriatric marriages, etc. Overnight, Jamie is transformed from a free-wheeling free-love adventurer to a sexually delicate and vulnerable shrinking violet.
Perhaps if this film had been made 30 years ago such an unconnected series of events would have seemed interesting for being nonconformist. It might have been taken to indicate some change in society. These days, such relationships are not interesting in their own right.
So, the last half breaks down into a soap opera.
This film is about the love life of "Jamie," who is the title character. Jamie is a 20-something woman who sleeps with every guy in sight. Yup, she's easy all right. She generally seems to be okay with that. However, her random hook-ups just aren't satisfying her of late. She decides to launch into a period of celibacy, just like the main character in the mainstream film "40 Days and 40 Nights." In the mean time, her friends and relatives pair up, get pregnant, and get married in unusual combinations.
While Jamie's wild ways last, this is a cute and fun movie. The characters seem slightly more genuine than usual. Jamie's sex scenes are awfully hot. However, the film quickly looses steam for lack of any sort of real plot. Well, a meandering plot less Indy film is no rarity, but the script then tries to keep us interested by springing "cheap drama" out of every futon in LA. Out of nowhere there are pregnancies, out-of-wedlock births, gay marriages, inter-color marriages, geriatric marriages, etc. Overnight, Jamie is transformed from a free-wheeling free-love adventurer to a sexually delicate and vulnerable shrinking violet.
Perhaps if this film had been made 30 years ago such an unconnected series of events would have seemed interesting for being nonconformist. It might have been taken to indicate some change in society. These days, such relationships are not interesting in their own right.
So, the last half breaks down into a soap opera.
Successfully achieves cuteness
MBunge2 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Trying to make a cute movie is probably one of the most daunting tasks in cinema because once you get past baby animals and fat-faced infants, cute is a very tricky subject. It's far too easy to miss the mark and end up with a film that's unwatchably cloying or desperate. However, writer/director Jane Weinstock hit the cute bullseye with Easy.
Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) has a problem and it's keeping her from being happy. Jamie can't quite relate to men on a mature, adult level so she substitutes sex. She sleeps with a lot of guys, all of them losers, vexing her sister Laura (Emily Dechanel) and her gay neighbor across the hall Martin (D.B. Woodside). But after John (Naveen Andrews), a romantic ideal that she has longed for since college breaks her heart, Jamie decides to become celibate for three months. Without sex as an emotional buffer, Jaime finds herself actually getting to know and care about a guy named Mick (Brian O'Byrne) who hosts a late night cable comedy show. But then John wants her back and that's only one of a multitude of romantic challenges that make Jamie doubt she'll ever find true love and contentment. Oh, and a couple of turtles fornicate.
I really like the unpretentiousness of this movie. It's one of those independent films about unhappy people and dysfunctional families, but it's never overwrought or caught up in its own supposed profundity. It deals with serious subjects like suicide, loneliness and selfishness with a light touch. Writer/director Weinstock makes it very clear that even the worst emotional pain, self-inflicted or not, isn't the end of the world.
Weinstock also has a good eye for romantic realities that often get short shrift in movies. The triangle of Jamie-John-Mick fits the classic clichés of a woman caught between the sexual and sensual dream that is John and the less striking but more grounded reality that is Mick. But Weinstock doesn't let these characters be clichés. She doesn't make John great on the surface but terrible underneath and she doesn't let Mick be the perfect man beneath an ordinary appearance. Weinstock allows John to really be a good guy who just isn't right for Jaime. And while Mick is the right guy, he's allowed to have the sort of insecurities and jealousies nice guys develop after romance has kicked them around a time or two.
Marguerite Moreau also gives a wonderful performance as a woman who only seems weak but is actually emotionally lazy. There's always a strength to Jaime, even when she's unsure and confused and confounded. She's just not used to tapping into it. Moreau is also very sexy in a completely approachable way. She embodies the cute girl with low standards that guys date for a while and then move on when they're bored.
Now, some of the relationship crises and personal challenges in the story come and go in a very quick fashion and are resolved in fairly pat ways. But the movie moves along at a brisk pace with laid back humor and several decent love scenes.
Easy is a smart, funny and unsentimental look at a young woman trying to break her old habits and take control of her own life. It's female-centric storytelling that doesn't get bogged down in romantic-comedy nonsense or feminist posturing. It's just a nice film, so go watch it.
Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) has a problem and it's keeping her from being happy. Jamie can't quite relate to men on a mature, adult level so she substitutes sex. She sleeps with a lot of guys, all of them losers, vexing her sister Laura (Emily Dechanel) and her gay neighbor across the hall Martin (D.B. Woodside). But after John (Naveen Andrews), a romantic ideal that she has longed for since college breaks her heart, Jamie decides to become celibate for three months. Without sex as an emotional buffer, Jaime finds herself actually getting to know and care about a guy named Mick (Brian O'Byrne) who hosts a late night cable comedy show. But then John wants her back and that's only one of a multitude of romantic challenges that make Jamie doubt she'll ever find true love and contentment. Oh, and a couple of turtles fornicate.
I really like the unpretentiousness of this movie. It's one of those independent films about unhappy people and dysfunctional families, but it's never overwrought or caught up in its own supposed profundity. It deals with serious subjects like suicide, loneliness and selfishness with a light touch. Writer/director Weinstock makes it very clear that even the worst emotional pain, self-inflicted or not, isn't the end of the world.
Weinstock also has a good eye for romantic realities that often get short shrift in movies. The triangle of Jamie-John-Mick fits the classic clichés of a woman caught between the sexual and sensual dream that is John and the less striking but more grounded reality that is Mick. But Weinstock doesn't let these characters be clichés. She doesn't make John great on the surface but terrible underneath and she doesn't let Mick be the perfect man beneath an ordinary appearance. Weinstock allows John to really be a good guy who just isn't right for Jaime. And while Mick is the right guy, he's allowed to have the sort of insecurities and jealousies nice guys develop after romance has kicked them around a time or two.
Marguerite Moreau also gives a wonderful performance as a woman who only seems weak but is actually emotionally lazy. There's always a strength to Jaime, even when she's unsure and confused and confounded. She's just not used to tapping into it. Moreau is also very sexy in a completely approachable way. She embodies the cute girl with low standards that guys date for a while and then move on when they're bored.
Now, some of the relationship crises and personal challenges in the story come and go in a very quick fashion and are resolved in fairly pat ways. But the movie moves along at a brisk pace with laid back humor and several decent love scenes.
Easy is a smart, funny and unsentimental look at a young woman trying to break her old habits and take control of her own life. It's female-centric storytelling that doesn't get bogged down in romantic-comedy nonsense or feminist posturing. It's just a nice film, so go watch it.
A wonderful film at Sundance
nhpbob2 March 2004
As someone who works at the Sundance Film Festival as a volunteer assistant manager/crowd control, I have seen many films in my 7 years there. But this film, which showed in January of this year, 2004, was selected as a special film to show to volunteers the same night as Opening Night. What a good choice.
The indie world's version of a romantic comedy/drama (meaning, its not predictable, it's very realistic, and it STILL entertains), "EASY" is a film that should please most audiences who watch it, primarily the female movielover. This film, to my male eyes, accurately shows what a sexually active, yet celibacy-curious, young woman's life can be like, especially when she meets two men who are right for her, though at slightly different times. (Hollywood would have her meet them the same day....though she almost does here. One of them happens to host a local TV show that she watches at home.)
The beauty here, and what i won't spoil, is you don't know which guy she will end up with. (There's absolutely no guarantee that she'll end up with anyone, period.) Actually, "the beauty here" is the lead character, played by the I-dare-you-to-not-fall-for-her Marguerite Moreau. Reminding me of Barbara Hershey in her 20s, Ms. Moreau holds the film together like Super Glue, and deserves credit for being an actress who, in these slightly prudish times, allows herself to be realistically filmed during sexual moments. Adding to the film's cohesiveness are the performances by the other actors, including Emily Deschanel, Zooey's equally talented sister, and the two guys played by Naveen Andrews and Brian F. O'Byrne.
Writer/director Jane Weinstock probably deserves some of that credit, as an actor can only do something truthfully, if he or she feels there's someone they can trust behind the camera. It's a film that made me bemoan my current non-existant love life, as it shows the fun and the messiness inherent with strong sexual relationship.
This is not a heavy film, by any means. It's as if the DNA of Nora Ephron was spliced with John Cassavetes. And on top of the expert storytelling...is the great soundtrack by Grant Lee Phillips. Not only are some of his past songs from his solo albums used (where I nodded my head during one lovely red-tinged sex scene, aware that a song that i already loved, was being used PERFECTLY), but he also supplied the score throughout.
Enough gushing. Someone take this film, and give it to the movie-dating Saturday night crowd. (As far as I know, it's still looking for a distributor.) Watch more heads start to nod, as the music and images and acting and writing/directing all gel together to make an "EASY" winner.
The indie world's version of a romantic comedy/drama (meaning, its not predictable, it's very realistic, and it STILL entertains), "EASY" is a film that should please most audiences who watch it, primarily the female movielover. This film, to my male eyes, accurately shows what a sexually active, yet celibacy-curious, young woman's life can be like, especially when she meets two men who are right for her, though at slightly different times. (Hollywood would have her meet them the same day....though she almost does here. One of them happens to host a local TV show that she watches at home.)
The beauty here, and what i won't spoil, is you don't know which guy she will end up with. (There's absolutely no guarantee that she'll end up with anyone, period.) Actually, "the beauty here" is the lead character, played by the I-dare-you-to-not-fall-for-her Marguerite Moreau. Reminding me of Barbara Hershey in her 20s, Ms. Moreau holds the film together like Super Glue, and deserves credit for being an actress who, in these slightly prudish times, allows herself to be realistically filmed during sexual moments. Adding to the film's cohesiveness are the performances by the other actors, including Emily Deschanel, Zooey's equally talented sister, and the two guys played by Naveen Andrews and Brian F. O'Byrne.
Writer/director Jane Weinstock probably deserves some of that credit, as an actor can only do something truthfully, if he or she feels there's someone they can trust behind the camera. It's a film that made me bemoan my current non-existant love life, as it shows the fun and the messiness inherent with strong sexual relationship.
This is not a heavy film, by any means. It's as if the DNA of Nora Ephron was spliced with John Cassavetes. And on top of the expert storytelling...is the great soundtrack by Grant Lee Phillips. Not only are some of his past songs from his solo albums used (where I nodded my head during one lovely red-tinged sex scene, aware that a song that i already loved, was being used PERFECTLY), but he also supplied the score throughout.
Enough gushing. Someone take this film, and give it to the movie-dating Saturday night crowd. (As far as I know, it's still looking for a distributor.) Watch more heads start to nod, as the music and images and acting and writing/directing all gel together to make an "EASY" winner.
romance in the 21st century
widescreenguy21 May 2005
I never was into the 'singles scene' nevertheless I was impressed with the realism depicted in this film.
its strongest point is its unpredictability, just like real life.
the lovemaking scenes are important but secondary, fully consistent with the realism in the rest of the film.
romance for 20 and 30 something singles is a veritable minefield and not getting any better. if you want insight into the sacrifices and rewards necessary to survive, starting with genuine loyalty topped off with a huge dollop of FORGIVENESS then watch this film.
and a happy ending to boot. likewise, very plausible.
its strongest point is its unpredictability, just like real life.
the lovemaking scenes are important but secondary, fully consistent with the realism in the rest of the film.
romance for 20 and 30 something singles is a veritable minefield and not getting any better. if you want insight into the sacrifices and rewards necessary to survive, starting with genuine loyalty topped off with a huge dollop of FORGIVENESS then watch this film.
and a happy ending to boot. likewise, very plausible.
Quite Interesting...
d_napierjerray4 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I actually saw this movie on TV a couple of weeks ago and I sort of enjoyed it.
This movie shows how powerful sex and attraction can be. It is so powerful that can lead even sisters to betray one another. To me this is quite accurate since our whole entire culture is filled with sex in advertisements, television, and movies. "Easy" somewhat represents how, much like the idea of sex rules in our society today (most of the time, without consequence), sex overpowered Jaime's life and everywhere she went she deceived by sex.
The sex scenes were VERY realistic and I even considered that perhaps I had turned the channel by accident. But despite how realistic they were, I don't think all the situations were realistic at all. Somehow Laura's sex crazed husband gets another woman pregnant(whats with the hat!) while at the same time, Mick gets his lesbian ex-girlfriend pregnant. Then Laura ends up sleeping with Jaime's(HER SISTER'S) past/present love interest, John, and so on and so on. Its kind of like a sleazy talk show. I thought the ending was a little strange too. It was your traditional happy ending that seemed somewhat out of place. This didn't seem like the type of movie that should have been full of "happily-ever-afters" and friends and family forgiving and rejoicing. I doubt that would have happened in the real world. It sure wouldn't have happened in my house! So it was a relatively good movie only because of the lessons she learned alone the way, but frankly, with this nauseating emotional carousel full of let downs and betrayals, I think Jaime should have sworn off sex forever.
This movie shows how powerful sex and attraction can be. It is so powerful that can lead even sisters to betray one another. To me this is quite accurate since our whole entire culture is filled with sex in advertisements, television, and movies. "Easy" somewhat represents how, much like the idea of sex rules in our society today (most of the time, without consequence), sex overpowered Jaime's life and everywhere she went she deceived by sex.
The sex scenes were VERY realistic and I even considered that perhaps I had turned the channel by accident. But despite how realistic they were, I don't think all the situations were realistic at all. Somehow Laura's sex crazed husband gets another woman pregnant(whats with the hat!) while at the same time, Mick gets his lesbian ex-girlfriend pregnant. Then Laura ends up sleeping with Jaime's(HER SISTER'S) past/present love interest, John, and so on and so on. Its kind of like a sleazy talk show. I thought the ending was a little strange too. It was your traditional happy ending that seemed somewhat out of place. This didn't seem like the type of movie that should have been full of "happily-ever-afters" and friends and family forgiving and rejoicing. I doubt that would have happened in the real world. It sure wouldn't have happened in my house! So it was a relatively good movie only because of the lessons she learned alone the way, but frankly, with this nauseating emotional carousel full of let downs and betrayals, I think Jaime should have sworn off sex forever.
blah blah sex blah
pythonking3 February 2004
A film of some skin, lots of sex, few funny parts, and very little substance. Not compelling and uninteresting from the open to credits. I wish I could say this film had more to offer than making me feel like being able to go without sex for 90 days is some great feat, but there was nothing else that I got out of this movie. The characters don't ever connect with the audience, and the subject matter is overdone. This offers little new for the audience.
easy should do better
mglasson26 November 2004
I saw this movie at sundance and was really quite charmed by it considering that it is a "romantic comedy" of sorts which is not my genre of choice. The actors were all serviceable if not excellent in their comic, yet quite human, roles. margaritte (sp) is a spellbinding beauty who has always captivated in her film work... she had lost her voice at the screening, but even squeaking out a few words afterwards, she had me so in love with her. Beyond this, there were some pacing issues for me and the occasional clunky scene, but all in all, this was a smart and well-rounded sort of character piece. I don't agree with the reviewer who says it's not for "eastcoasters" since I live in NYC and felt that this film worked on many levels that resonated with me, in spite of the geographical differences. This is a fine piece of film-making that can work on its own terms and still fall into the framework of a good romantic comedy, so I hope that some genius out there picks it up for a direct to video release and it can deliver some punch on the home market. Margarritte needs to be a star and this movie proves she can deliver the good and the director holds the piece together with confidence and grace. Oh, and it was shot on DV and it looks like film. pretty cool.
Not so easy , but definitely a wake-up call
editfilmr26 July 2004
Have to concur with pythonking, a pretenious art house flop indeed ! Caught this feature at the Stony Brook Film Festival, last night. The "hollow" crowd reaction at film's end did indeed echo my own assessment of a cliche' ridden and drawn out relationship journey. I get the feeling that there may be more of a West coast-East coast dichotomy at work here. Free LOVE ( at a cost ! ), and a "lacking" morality.... when further delved upon , seem to stand out to those involved [like the brightest of highway billboards] , yet seemingly and blindly passed over by most of those involved , like non-stick teflon brain tissue ! Marguerite Moreau , although a talented actress , falls short in this faux pas , with a weak supporting cast. Again, perhaps us "eastcoasters" have a harder time grasping others missing the obvious and a lack of patience , there of. Gauged my own reaction to those of others in the mixed and diverse crowd screening it there. In discussion with many college students in attendance there, most left with gaping mouths, but waking up to the joys and truths of : Trust , family , monogamy & common sense and sensibilities !
The New, Sexy--and Celibate---Feminist
Nastasha729 January 2004
Jamie's foray into celibacy parallels the modern woman's foray into feminist sexuality. The last generation of feminists fought the battle of sexuality on men's terms: we can f*ck for fun just like they can! The emphasis was on doing what men do the way men do, in the workplace and in the bedroom.
Jamie is the an icon of the young women today who are reconsidering and rebelling against this "feminism" which is centered around a masculine idea of success. These women are staying home with their children and reclaiming control over their sexuality. Jamie's sexual adventures are emotionally unfulfilling so she takes a pledge of celibacy for 90 days. She falls in love with a quality man during this time, and through this relationship comes to terms with her past sexual behavior and its repercussions.
So far, sounds like a chick flick, right? The one relevant theme this film fails to illuminate is the universality of Jamie's journey. It is not a woman's journey, it is a human journey through the landscape of sexuality, and the value we assign to this most intimate of relations.
Jamie is the an icon of the young women today who are reconsidering and rebelling against this "feminism" which is centered around a masculine idea of success. These women are staying home with their children and reclaiming control over their sexuality. Jamie's sexual adventures are emotionally unfulfilling so she takes a pledge of celibacy for 90 days. She falls in love with a quality man during this time, and through this relationship comes to terms with her past sexual behavior and its repercussions.
So far, sounds like a chick flick, right? The one relevant theme this film fails to illuminate is the universality of Jamie's journey. It is not a woman's journey, it is a human journey through the landscape of sexuality, and the value we assign to this most intimate of relations.
Lame Lame Lame and MORE LAMENESS
pythonking12 July 2004
An unoriginal wanna-be art house flop. I saw it at Sundance and I'm sorry I wasted my vouchers on it. I don't know why, but the people at Sundance last year were really pushing it on the people. The makers ever kept emailing us asking for our comments and suggestions. I told them just what I'm writing here. Don't waste your time or money. The characters were unoriginal. The story was full of cliches and uninteresting plot development. I walked out with only like 15 minutes to go because it just got worse and worse. If I can say one nice thing about it, there was....well...Sorry, I can't say anything that nice about it. If you want to see something like this that is more interesting, might I recommend "Party Girl" or "Monster". They're a lot more fun, and you'll enjoy them a hell of a lot more.
great acting, great story, great movie
whiskeymittens20 February 2004
EASY is not a "chick flick" (though women will definitely identify with the main character) and is not your standard Hollywood romantic comedy. EASY is the film all those Hugh Grant movies aspire to be - smart, funny, sexy, appealing to both sexes, not smug and patronizing.
Jaime (Marguerite Moreau) dates a lot of jerks and it never works out. She's beautiful, interesting, neurotic, and dates in all the wrong ways. Any 20-40-something woman who didn't grow up in a convent will smile and cringe as she identifies with Jaime's struggle to figure out who she is, what she wants and how to get it. She seems to take one step forward and two steps back with her family and friends getting all tangled up in the story (in brilliantly funny ways).
This movie isn't spoon-fed to it's audience with all the glossiness of Hollywood. The sex scenes feel real, with no soundtrack crescendo at the climax (or anti-climax); the characters are sympathetic and interesting; I especially liked Brian F. O'Byrne's performance. Weinstock showed playfulness in writing the overlapping relationships with a tongue-in-cheek humor, ala Shakespeare or modern British comedy.
EASY is a funny, emotional, sexy movie for thinking adults, not the lobotomized masses that can't get enough close-ups of Julia Roberts' smile or Meg Ryan's smirk. It's smarter than other films about contemporary relationships. It's also better acted.
Finally: If you don't fall in love with Marguerite Moreau after seeing this film, you're made of stone.
Jaime (Marguerite Moreau) dates a lot of jerks and it never works out. She's beautiful, interesting, neurotic, and dates in all the wrong ways. Any 20-40-something woman who didn't grow up in a convent will smile and cringe as she identifies with Jaime's struggle to figure out who she is, what she wants and how to get it. She seems to take one step forward and two steps back with her family and friends getting all tangled up in the story (in brilliantly funny ways).
This movie isn't spoon-fed to it's audience with all the glossiness of Hollywood. The sex scenes feel real, with no soundtrack crescendo at the climax (or anti-climax); the characters are sympathetic and interesting; I especially liked Brian F. O'Byrne's performance. Weinstock showed playfulness in writing the overlapping relationships with a tongue-in-cheek humor, ala Shakespeare or modern British comedy.
EASY is a funny, emotional, sexy movie for thinking adults, not the lobotomized masses that can't get enough close-ups of Julia Roberts' smile or Meg Ryan's smirk. It's smarter than other films about contemporary relationships. It's also better acted.
Finally: If you don't fall in love with Marguerite Moreau after seeing this film, you're made of stone.
Delightful and Sexy Romance
claudio_carvalho28 March 2007
Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a young woman that works giving original names to different products. She has a promiscuous life, with affairs with "Mr. Wrongs", differently of her sister that has a steady relationship with her boyfriend. Jamie misses her mother, who committed suicide when she was a child, and her father blames himself for the death of his wife. When Jamie dates her former professor John (Naveen Andrews), for whom she had a crush, she believes she found her prince charming. Meanwhile she meets Mick (Brian F. O'Byrne), the host of a TV show, and they become friends. When John ends his relationship with Jamie, she decides to begin a celibate for three months, and she becomes closer to Mick. After some wrong decisions, Jamie finally commits with her true love.
"Easy" is a delightful and sexy romance, supported by a delicious and wonderful screenplay and great direction and performances, but mostly by this lovely actress Marguerite Moreau. The witty and sensual character of Jamie Harris is credible because of the magnificent performance of the expressive and gorgeous Marguerite Moreau, and I really felt in love for her. The director Jane Weinstock shows a tight and sensitive direction in her first feature, and I expect to see another work of this promising professional. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Easy Sem Compromisso" ("Easy Without Commitment")
"Easy" is a delightful and sexy romance, supported by a delicious and wonderful screenplay and great direction and performances, but mostly by this lovely actress Marguerite Moreau. The witty and sensual character of Jamie Harris is credible because of the magnificent performance of the expressive and gorgeous Marguerite Moreau, and I really felt in love for her. The director Jane Weinstock shows a tight and sensitive direction in her first feature, and I expect to see another work of this promising professional. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Easy Sem Compromisso" ("Easy Without Commitment")
Charm
Kazak22 April 2005
Look, I admit that I am a sucker for pretty, witty women who can pull off being cute without overplaying it. So, it makes sense that I would love this movie. But, if you are tired of standard Hollywood fare where everyone is either Hugh Grant or Sandra Bullock, then give this little movie a chance. Sure, it is designed to appear to the romantic in us, but what is wrong with that? Maybe we could use a little more romance and a little less cynicism these days.
And I know that some people will struggle with the difficulty in believing that a woman who looks like the star of this film could fall in love with the men co-starring opposite her, but the fact that the men don't look like Hugh Grant is another thing that appeals to me. Even the star looks like a real person, hair a mess, little make-up, swollen eyes. But, without the Hollywood veneer, she is even more real, more lovable because she isn't perfect.
Enough reading. Go watch the movie.
And I know that some people will struggle with the difficulty in believing that a woman who looks like the star of this film could fall in love with the men co-starring opposite her, but the fact that the men don't look like Hugh Grant is another thing that appeals to me. Even the star looks like a real person, hair a mess, little make-up, swollen eyes. But, without the Hollywood veneer, she is even more real, more lovable because she isn't perfect.
Enough reading. Go watch the movie.
Fantastic Indie Romantic Comedy
peterchristopher13 November 2004
I saw this with some friends at the Nantucket Film Festival in June 2004 and we all loved it. This is a romantic comedy that even guys will like. One thing that really struck me is that the script was totally unpredictable without seeming contrived. It also conveyed a feeling of raw realism that was particularly well conveyed by Margeurite Moreau and Brian F. O'Byrne. There are some fairly graphic sex scenes in the second half of the film that contribute to this realism as well that are shocking but not gratuitous.
My only regret with this film is that it does not seem to have found a distributor for either a theatrical release or a DVD release. My fingers are still crossed!
My only regret with this film is that it does not seem to have found a distributor for either a theatrical release or a DVD release. My fingers are still crossed!
Good light entertainment
annemh21 February 2004
Much better than previous review would suggest. Charming and quirky rather than insubstantial. Characters not terribly deep but there is enough good dialogue and plot-twists to keep you entertained. Not meant as a deep treatise on relationships but grows on you as it progresses with aspects of the relationships amusingly reminiscent of reality.
One of the better Indies I've seen...
gotjosh22 December 2005
This is not a movie for everyone, especially with the prominent LDS community here in Utah, but it can appeal to everyone who has dealt with the confusing and entangling situations of love. I was definitely struck by the authenticity of the love scenes and their awkwardness, which is so often accompanied with a new lover. Marguerite Moreau delivers a stand-out performance - I would love to see her in more films... she offers a unique innocence, like she's almost broken, but holding on to hope. She fits the character of Jamie Harris perfectly. The movie was longer than I expected, but without being long-winded. It moved with a mellow pace while adding unexpected, humorous and dramatic twists to the plot.
Worth a Look
Worth a Look
Great actress, boring movie.
cableaddict1 November 2005
I agree with all of the glowing reviews posted previously, except I would tine them down a few notches.
This film is well made considering the budget they had to work with. Unfortunately, it really has nothing to say, and so beings to fall apart at the end. It's a pleasant little film, though, and as has been said over and over, Marguerite Moreau is just mesmerizing. Without her this film would be torture to watch, but the camera takes full advantage of both her looks, and the many facets of her personality. -that's what really works here, and the director certainly deserves credit for realizing this and shooting / editing specifically for this.
A nice little "date" movie, with plenty of subtle humor and a few very hot sex scenes. (in a "nice" way) It has the amazing ms Moreau for the guys, and a few "chick flick" touches for the ladies.
Definitely worth seeing, just don't expect it to change your life in any way.
This film is well made considering the budget they had to work with. Unfortunately, it really has nothing to say, and so beings to fall apart at the end. It's a pleasant little film, though, and as has been said over and over, Marguerite Moreau is just mesmerizing. Without her this film would be torture to watch, but the camera takes full advantage of both her looks, and the many facets of her personality. -that's what really works here, and the director certainly deserves credit for realizing this and shooting / editing specifically for this.
A nice little "date" movie, with plenty of subtle humor and a few very hot sex scenes. (in a "nice" way) It has the amazing ms Moreau for the guys, and a few "chick flick" touches for the ladies.
Definitely worth seeing, just don't expect it to change your life in any way.
Poignant and delicately witty modern romance
allisonrung30 March 2004
Never have the shades of modern dating, flashing too quickly from delicious to devastating and back again, been captured so well in film. Brava, Ms.
Weinstock, bravissima.
Marguerite Moreau's Jamie is so distinct, so rich with idiosyncrasies to a degree that would make most filmmakers nervous, worried to alienate the audience.
But the character is charming; it is soon clear that her weirdness is merely an accurate sketch of how distinct we all would be, if our most private moments
were recorded. So the effect, no matter how original, quite marvellously evokes the real, the normal.
While nearly every character boasts this unusual realness (an exception is
Jamie's older sister, who is the only major character that may be construed as a generic type), the situations and feelings they evoke are quite intimately familiar. This is not a typical romantic comedy to be accompanied with strawberry wine
coolers and dreamily horny sighs. No seduction is without awkwardness, and
the whole film might be subtitled "imbroglio." So it describes, as it were, real life.
Hope we see it distributed soon.
Weinstock, bravissima.
Marguerite Moreau's Jamie is so distinct, so rich with idiosyncrasies to a degree that would make most filmmakers nervous, worried to alienate the audience.
But the character is charming; it is soon clear that her weirdness is merely an accurate sketch of how distinct we all would be, if our most private moments
were recorded. So the effect, no matter how original, quite marvellously evokes the real, the normal.
While nearly every character boasts this unusual realness (an exception is
Jamie's older sister, who is the only major character that may be construed as a generic type), the situations and feelings they evoke are quite intimately familiar. This is not a typical romantic comedy to be accompanied with strawberry wine
coolers and dreamily horny sighs. No seduction is without awkwardness, and
the whole film might be subtitled "imbroglio." So it describes, as it were, real life.
Hope we see it distributed soon.
Why Bother?
millerfan12322 June 2006
This is the standard plot of "Which guy should should the girl choose?" The choices are: the correct choice, or the other guy. I won't spoil it for you. Even though the ending is predictable, I didn't care. I was just hoping she'd make her decision quickly so the movie would end. At least it's a short movie, something like 90 minutes.
If you're going to use a tired plot, you need to do better than this. Some folks might like the gratuitous sex scenes; they did help pass the time but not to the point where it made Easy entertaining. There are plenty of romantic comedies that are better than this; if you can't find one watch an episode of Friends or Coupling.
If you're going to use a tired plot, you need to do better than this. Some folks might like the gratuitous sex scenes; they did help pass the time but not to the point where it made Easy entertaining. There are plenty of romantic comedies that are better than this; if you can't find one watch an episode of Friends or Coupling.
A character study...
ulisses_phoenix24 September 2020
When I decided to watch this film, I was afraid it was going to be some kind of lowbrow comedy. It was anything but that. Although there is some comedy and lots of romance, it's not a RomCom. It doesn't follow the RomCom formula at all. It's a well-produced, character-driven drama focused on the main character, Jamie (played by Marguerite Moreau). Although there are many supporting characters in this film, they are not really fully developed as their own characters and are merely there as vehicles to advance the development and evolution of the main character. The supporting characters are developed, to be sure, but only as needed to advance the story. If fact, I think there are only a few minutes of screen time when those supporting characters are on their own, otherwise they are interacting somehow with Jamie. I'm sure that this was intentional on the part of the screenwriter in order to keep the focus on the main story (the evolution of the main character) and to avoid having the film look like some kind of ensemble comedy.
The dialogue was well written and replete with emotion and subtlety, much of which I'm sure was beyond my ability to understand. And the acting was world-class, not a single bad performance. Many of the scenes in this drama, I imagine, were difficult for the players, but they executed flawlessly. The score and cinematography were unobtrusive and perfectly suited to the mood and tone of the scenes they supported. There were a few hand-held shots but they were rare and completely appropriate to the scenes.
With regard to race, this film was diverse in the composition of the cast and there was absolutely no derision or bias at all. In fact, race was irrelevant in this film. The main character (who is a white woman) had an intimate, platonic relationship with her black neighbor, Martin (played by D.B. Woodside) and there was interracial romance in the film, too. Also, one of Jamie's love interests, John (played by Naveen Andrews) is of southern Indian ethnicity. This film is one of the most inclusive, unbiased films I've ever seen. Well done!
Overall, a well-produced, original story with great acting and no racial bias. This film is easily an 8/10, but I'm giving it a 9/10 because it was so inclusive and unbiased.
Advisory: drug use by the protagonist, suicide, infidelity.
Rating 9/10; submitted 2020/09/23, 22:50 EDT
The dialogue was well written and replete with emotion and subtlety, much of which I'm sure was beyond my ability to understand. And the acting was world-class, not a single bad performance. Many of the scenes in this drama, I imagine, were difficult for the players, but they executed flawlessly. The score and cinematography were unobtrusive and perfectly suited to the mood and tone of the scenes they supported. There were a few hand-held shots but they were rare and completely appropriate to the scenes.
With regard to race, this film was diverse in the composition of the cast and there was absolutely no derision or bias at all. In fact, race was irrelevant in this film. The main character (who is a white woman) had an intimate, platonic relationship with her black neighbor, Martin (played by D.B. Woodside) and there was interracial romance in the film, too. Also, one of Jamie's love interests, John (played by Naveen Andrews) is of southern Indian ethnicity. This film is one of the most inclusive, unbiased films I've ever seen. Well done!
Overall, a well-produced, original story with great acting and no racial bias. This film is easily an 8/10, but I'm giving it a 9/10 because it was so inclusive and unbiased.
Advisory: drug use by the protagonist, suicide, infidelity.
Rating 9/10; submitted 2020/09/23, 22:50 EDT
fun to watch
edmass7 December 2007
Four Weddings and a Funeral meets the Duex ex machine monster. And wins! The first half of the film moves along nicely with warm characters and fairly hot action - but definitely with good taste. But in spite of a numerous the plot twists that are transparently inserted in the second half of the movie to move the viewers emotions along to a happy ending, the warm and clever performance by the female lead carries the day. Marguerite Moreau as the luckless and sometimes feckless and always sexy Jamie Harris makes it all worthwhile. While things should have been wrapped up a couple of scenes earlier, no real harm was done. Just watch it for the joy of her performance.
entertaining, intelligent, gratifying -- wow
dyanne-127 February 2004
What an unexpected pleasure to watch a smart romantic comedy that doesn't condescend, and yet has everything work out in a most gratifying way. Jane Weinstock might not be the Jane Austen of our age, but she has the same intelligent approach to tracking our desire for romance, our foibles, the lessons we have to learn before we've earned our match. The actors, particularly the two sisters, do a beautiful job. Moreau is luminous. The camera work is terrific. I'm a fan.
Honest and sensitive, with a good sense of humor.
tolpolar20 February 2004
Easy is an honest and sensitive film, with a good sense of humor. It has a simple story, but treated with special charisma and magic. Sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter, sometimes wild. But always soft and with a special flavor. Great acting and soundtrack (provided by Grant Lee Phillips). Nice ending and rhythm. If you're ready to fall in love, you're ready for it.
Slow, but never boring
HallmarkMovieBuff25 August 2006
After summarizing this movie in the Summary, I find little else to say except to repeat, to wit, this movie is a slow 97 minutes, but interest never flags, especially if you're hot for Marguerite Moreau, as she's in a large majority of scenes.
The action, as it were, moves forward less on plot than on slice-of-life vignettes while our heroine -- who had a history of poorly-chosen paramours, of men who didn't appreciate her, leaving break-up messages on her phone machine during the opening credits -- copes with the ups and downs of dealing with two who finally do. Watching Moreau's portrayal through these transitions lends a real-life atmosphere to the proceedings, and is the primary delight of this film. All in all, an easy watch.
The action, as it were, moves forward less on plot than on slice-of-life vignettes while our heroine -- who had a history of poorly-chosen paramours, of men who didn't appreciate her, leaving break-up messages on her phone machine during the opening credits -- copes with the ups and downs of dealing with two who finally do. Watching Moreau's portrayal through these transitions lends a real-life atmosphere to the proceedings, and is the primary delight of this film. All in all, an easy watch.
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