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Margot at the Wedding

Noah Baumbach should take a break from moviemaking and go to therapy

By Matt Pais

November 16, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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Crotchety novelist Margot (Nicole Kidman) brings son Claude (Zane Pais) to visit Margot’s sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who’s about to marry major schlub Malcolm (Jack Black). Since Margot’s got a big mouth and the family is totally dysfunctional, she has no trouble sharing her feelings about Malcolm and destroying any hope of pre-wedding stability.

Big question: Will "Margot" receive (and deserve) the critical acclaim that fell on writer-director Noah Baumbach's overrated last movie, "The Squid and the Whale"?

Skip it: Everyone seems like they’ve been miserable for a long time, so at least the performances are consistent. However, Baumbach’s bitterness reduces the movie to a story of messed-up adults and kids who aren’t old enough to be screwed up yet. The director knows how people—family members, in particular—can hurt each other, but he’s an unsympathetic downer with little faith in people’s ability to survive their family and themselves.

Catch it: If you're looking for a new way to call someone ugly without actually saying they're ugly, Margot describes Malcolm as, "completely unattractive." Much nicer!

Bottom line: Presenting smart people who don’t realize how stupid they sound, “Margot at the Wedding” talks and talks and talks without any compassion for the mistakes made or bonds broken. If the movie has one main idea, it’s that life’s tough and everyone sucks at it. Bring the family!

Bonus: Pauline says it's easy to resist having an affair if you just get a manicure. Does that mean pedicures can solve all financial woes?

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