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Ira & Abby

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy
Written by: Jennifer Westfeldt
Directed by: Robert Cary
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 14, 2007
Running Time: 101 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and some sexual content
Starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Jason Alexander, Frances Conroy, Fred Willard, Judith Light, Robert Klein, and Maddie Corman
Ira and Abby is a sweet, hilarious, and slightly subversive romantic comedy. It examines the issues of marriage, monogamy, and whether "I do" is the only path to lifelong love and happiness. Ira Black is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish, and has so many issues he can't fit them into 12 years of analysis. Abby Willoughby is a free spirit who works in a gym and is better at solving her friends' problems than selling memberships. When the two meet, the impossible happens: They fall in love, meet each other's parents, and decide to get married--all in a few breathless hours. And life is good--for a while--until a series of comic misadventures (multiple divorces, in-laws, affairs, exes, and too many therapists) force the couple to rethink their strategies. (Magnolia Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Anything But Love Save Me
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
The film may be slight, but it is not stupid, and director Robert Cary keeps both stickiness and shtickiness at bay.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Westfeldt's screenplay and Cary's direction combine to make it the best Manhattan love story since "When Harry Met Sally."
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Works its way under your skin, and then into your heart.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Isn't as sharply directed as "Jessica Stein," but it's still a formidable crowd-pleaser.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand
A similar blend of comedy and a grumbling skepticism about the essential goodness of human beings makes Ira & Abby feel, at times, like one of those great stage comedies of yesteryear transferred to the screen.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Though playing at times like an extended sitcom, Ira & Abby radiates a breathless charm, due in no small part to Ms. Westfeldt’s sharp dialogue and engagingly unmannered performance.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
To do rough justice to this special treat in not much space, let me first stipulate that it evokes any number of Woody Allen films, thanks to its therapy-centric characters and its Upper West Side milieu.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart
This round-robin of marital malaise has a lot more integrity than one might anticipate from its meet-cute beginnings.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
It's still a mixed bag with a lot of cutesy awfulness to wade through, but the acerbic ending is enough of a punchline to suggest that Westfeldt understands what a joke this kind of film can be.
Read Full Review >Variety John Anderson
Starts off deliriously, is derailed into reality, and finally settles into something in between.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
It's all too zany and madcap and Woody Allen-redux to be remotely credible, but Ira & Abby turns out to be witty and winning, in large part because of its cast.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Connie Ogle
Neurotic New Yorkers, messed up relationships, inept analysts, infidelity -- Ira & Abby has them all, and it's anything but refreshing to trudge through this well-worn territory again.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Julia Wallace
The overall effect is that of an aging vaudevillian making a good-hearted but embarrassing attempt to entertain us with stock characters and stock jokes and stock shtick.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A stale rehash of Woody Allen-style "he's a neurotic Jew, she's a flaky shiksa" gags.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.8 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Janschie Davie gave it a7:
Preposterous start that steers into realms of sitcom reality as the movie progresses. The cast is winsome although without any deep believability or motivational foundation. It is too long at the start and too short at the end. Yet, it has something that connects in an over-the-top way. Not for everyone. Maybe for lonely hearts looking for answers without answers.
jay b gave it a5:
Terrific cast and some winning performances, but this movie fails to entertain because of sometimes-inept dialog and a confused plot that strains credulity way past the breaking point and finally lurches to a completely unconvincing and unsatisfying halt.
Ken G gave it a3:
A wanna-be Woody Allen type movie, but maybe only Woody Allen, can do "Woody Allen" well. Just not funny, witty clever, or insightful enough to make it worthwhile. And neither of the leads are all that good. The male lead in particular, seems miscast.
