Seven Girlfriends review
When I read the brand on the back of the box, I pegged Seven Girlfriends as a retread of Nick Hornby’s untried (eventually a film), High Fidelity. It sounds so almost identical - “Jesse (Tim Daly)… can’t make a stand for a top relationship… beyond hope to fix the mistakes he’s made, he goes on a trek to assail all his days beyond recall major girlfriends.” A bit insolent? Surprisingly, even with such a alike resemble plot, Seven Girlfriends is markedly different from John Cusack’s crucial favourite. For a man thing, the character’s trip in High Fidelity is a mordant one. He analyzes his old flames and finds each unified unworthy or petty. In Seven Girlfriends, Jesse honestly wants to find out-dated what is inexact with his relationship skills.
The goad for Jesse’s inquisition is a bit of a nervous exhaustion. In one of the most momentous opening scenes in a yearn time, Jesse’s previous fire Annabeth (Laura Leighton), his “the story,” calls him out of the blue to make known she is getting married. Lest we think this is another My Best Friend’s Wedding, quickly a bizarre accident in fact yanks her from his life, just after she admits she up till has feelings allowing for regarding him. Jesse doesn’t handle Anna’s demise well - instead he proposes to his tenor gal, restaurant possessor and psychic Hannah (Olivia d’Abo). In rejoinder, she dumps him, since they’ve not had the best relationship. And thus, his mission is go. He takes off for Anna’s funeral, in the meantime stopping displeasing to visit (and quiz) every bromide of his quondam girlfriends (or at least, the six yet alive).
Some of the faces in the cast will be familiar, but a lot of these people are unknowns. Luckily, they are all worth knowing. Tim Daly, instantly recognizable from Wings, is suitably suave and unsound as Jesse, as rise as genuinely jocose and charming. Ayre Take in (Ellen) is ok, but he does have one particularly “explosive” scene (ha ha, I just made a dirty joke and you don’t lay one’s hands on it… unless of execution, you’ve seen the film). Olivia d’Abo is delightfully nutty as the (usually incorrect) psychic Hannah. Other faces from Jesse’s former times include Mimi Rogers, Chicagoan Jami Gertz, Katy Selverstone, and, signally, Melora Hardin. Hardin, who hasn’t had much breakout success, is surprisingly good here, and she and Daly share the film’s most desirable scene as the two sing an impromptu duet (and what a instrument!).
This talking picture was the culmination of seven years effort from concert-master Paul Lazarus (a TV veteran), journo Stephen Gregg, and the producers (“One year for each girlfriend,” Lazarus jokes on the commentary). In review, I can’t see why the group had so much trouble getting things together - Lazarus, who honed his talent on Friends and Imprudent About You , shows a remarkable ingenuity behind the camera. Seven Girlfriends is fashionably staged and shot, and the jokes and launch moments against equally well. The calligraphy skirts corny sitcom moments with its revealing, sane conversation. Plus, there are some give a hoot funny scenes here! Keep an eye effectively in the direction of Jesse’s reunion with his old girlfriend Martha, who now has a girlfriend of her own.
Seven Girlfriends didn’t find a theatrical distributor, but it did win several audience awards at screen festivals. It’s easy to see why. As the case may be the honchos in Hollywood didn’t survive it appealing to the majority of moviegoers (look how sumptuously High Fidelity did), but it should certainly put together both spear and female fans of romantic comedy quite happy.
