Movie Review Rewind: Please Give (2010)

Brandon Vick flips the calendar back to 2010 for a look at Please Give on this edition of Movie Review Rewind.

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Please Give is meaningful, but lacks an inventive, entertaining story. It moves at one steady pace and never picks up any steam. The film has a great cast that includes Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, and Amanda Peet, but you cannot help but feel bored at times no matter how good the performances are.

Kate (Keener) and Alex (Platt) are a New York couple that makes a living by purchasing furniture and other items from apartments and houses where someone has just passed away and their family is trying to get rid of everything. Then they resell those items for more money at their store. Also, they purchased the apartment next door and plan on remodeling it. The only problem is the 90-year-old woman, Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert), who lives in that apartment has to die first. This causes tension with Andra’s granddaughters, Mary (Peet) and Rebecca (Hall).

Andra is a mean woman. But she is old so we cannot hold that against her. She is very straightforward and says what is on her mind. The film has some dark humor, but Andra is the one character that really is funny and provides some actual laughs. Rebecca loves her grandmother. She always stops by to see her and shop for her. She will get anything for her no matter how rude her grandmother can be. On the other hand, Rebecca’s sister, Mary, wants nothing to do with her grandmother. She is cold-hearted and gives her grandmother some competition when it comes to being a bitch.

In the other apartment, Kate and Alex have their own issues including their daughter, Abby (Sarah Steele). Abby has pimples all over her face and does not feel pretty. But if her mother would just buy these $200+ jeans then may be she will have some confidence. That is quite a price to pay to feel better about yourself. Kate struggles with what she does for a living and is full of guilt. So she gets this urge to volunteer and give money and food to the homeless. She begins to feel sorry for everyone. Alex is easy-going and does not stress out like his wife. But after having dinner with Andra and her two granddaughters, something between Alex and Mary ignites and could lead to a big mistake.

Please Give focuses on two families with some serious problems. Their family is not perfect, but they are trying their hardest. And the way this film focuses on those who are less fortunate is a nice gesture. The film is about family, loss, appreciation, and being grateful. The title of the film is a hint at what this material tries to cover. Everyone is giving something whether it is out-of-pocket or a part of themselves.

I was really hoping this film would be like Greenberg. Writer/director Nicole Holofcener‘s dramedy is dark but finds some hope within it all. And there is hope in Please Give, but in the middle of all of the chaos, the story still feels slow and has less of an impact than I thought it would. Plus, I thought there would be a little more comedy than what was actually in the film. What a pity.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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