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Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
Richard LaGravanese is one of the most talented screenwriters
around, having won an Oscar-nomination for "The Fisher King" and high
praise for his adaptations of "Beloved," "The Bridges of Madison
County" and "The Horse Whisperer." Now, he's also a first-time
director, fashioning an adult romantic comedy around a wealthy Fifth
Avenue divorcee (Holly Hunter) who has been dumped after 16 years by
her unfaithful doctor-husband (Martin Donovan) for a younger
woman. She's antsy and alone, given to concocting feisty, elaborate
fantasies of what the future holds in store. Longing for human
contact, she hangs out at Jaspers, an Upper West Side jazz club where
she drowns her loneliness in martinis while listening to the soulful
Queen Latifah. Inevitably, she ends up in the arms of a stranger,
Elias Koteas, who thinks he passionately desires her. But it's a case
of mistaken identity. However, his ardor re-awakens her interest in
someone other than herself - which then turns to the chubby elevator
man (Danny DeVito) in her apartment building. She discovers that he,
too, has a life filled with loss and dreams. He's a gambler with debts
and a dying daughter, and she unexpectedly finds comfort in his
company. Wearing a blonde wig, Holly Hunter once again delivers a
touching performance, filled with charming vulnerability, and Danny
DeVito has a gentle poignancy. When the movie ends, you don't know
what's next for these multi-dimensional characters but you're
satisfied that some kind of contentment has come out of their
emotional chaos. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Living Out
Loud" is a bittersweet 6, a sentimental story about lost souls and
middle-aged friendship in Manhattan.
Copyright © 1998 Susan Granger
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