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Review

The Marks women deal in various ways with the unfulfilled promise of life in present-day Los Angeles. Mom Jane (Blethyn) has adopted an at-risk inner-city child, and is undergoing liposuction for a flat stomach and the new relationship that is expected to result from the surgical procedure. Elizabeth (Mortimer) exacerbates her deeply ingrained insecurities by being an actress, with every callback a fresh opportunity for rejection and negative self-evaluation. Michelle (Keener, in a stand-out performance) is the bitter, caustic ex-homecoming queen in a barely functioning marriage, who plays at being an artist making miniature chairs out of twigs and responds to almost everything with a dispirited "fuck you." Adopted daughter Annie (Goodwin, in a notable film debut) watches them all with clear eyes, fondly nursing her own neuroses while observing the professional neurotics she now calls family. The characters are all adroitly delineated by the smartly cast ensemble, and director Holofcener is wry and effective in capturing the sights and sounds of contemporary urban living. A slice-of-life snapshot that shows warts and all, yet manages to leave the audience with a grudging affection for the Marks clan and all their foibles.