Please Give

Name: Please Give
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: April 30, 2010
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 78
Cast: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall

2010

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 61 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	Your Score
7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 61 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: April 30, 2010 | R

Starring: Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall

Summary: Kate has a lot on her mind. There’s the ethics problem of buying furniture on the cheap at estate sales and marking it up at her trendy Manhattan store. There’s the materialism problem of not wanting her teenage daughter to want the expensive things that Kate wants. There’s the marriage problem of sharing a partnership in parenting,Kate has a lot on her mind. There’s the ethics problem of buying furniture on the cheap at estate sales and marking it up at her trendy Manhattan store. There’s the materialism problem of not wanting her teenage daughter to want the expensive things that Kate wants. There’s the marriage problem of sharing a partnership in parenting, business, and life with her husband Alex but sensing doubt nibbling at the foundations. And there’s Kate’s free-floating 21st century malaise—the problem of how to live well and be a good person when poverty, homelessness, and sadness are always right outside the door.
Plus, there’s the neighbors: cranky, elderly Andra and the two granddaughters who look after her. As Kate, Alex, and Abby interact with the people next door, with each other, and with their New York surroundings, a complex mix of animosity, friendship, deception, guilt, and love plays out with both sharp humor and pathos. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Director: Nicole Holofcener

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 90 min

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Awards & Rankings

46	#46 Best Movie of 2010
97	#97 Most Shared Movie of 2010

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Joe Morgenstern

This gorgeous film, always tender and sometimes dark, is a deeply resonant comic drama that's concerned with nothing less than life, death, love, sex, guilt and the urban logic of mortality. Read full review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

In Please Give, the sharp-eyed filmmaker sends her vibrant representative out into the world to explore what it means for a woman to be lucky and still feel itchy. The report has the resonant ring of truth. Read full review

Claudia Puig

Sometimes -- and far too rarely -- a film will hit all the right notes, with sharp, original dialogue, brilliant casting and an absorbing story. So caught up in its spell, you dread seeing the credits roll. Please Give is that movie. Read full review

David Denby

Like a finely wrought short story, and it's all but perfect. Read full review

Liam Lacey

The characters are entertainingly contradictory, though in a somewhat predictable way: Nice people aren’t honest, and honest people aren’t nice. Read full review

David Edelstein

Holofcener’s plotting can seem casual (many characters, no speeches pointing up the themes, no conventional climaxes), but her dialogue is smart, an oscillating mixture of abrasiveness and balm, of harsh satire and compassionate pullback. Read full review

Rex Reed

At a time when every penny counts, where do they come up with the money to finance a movie this boring? Read full review

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User Reviews

Rachelle

Dec 15, 2010

Really interesting movie...Oliver Platt, Kathrine Keener. Great acting, very subtle. It seems to me that the writer actually wrote for an intelligent audience. Go figure.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AustinW

May 25, 2010

A really great movie - possibly her best. Holofcener is quickly becoming one of my favorite writer/directors. The whole cast is brilliant, and the characters are rich and complex.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

alexw

May 4, 2010

I was sad to see the reviews this movie received after thinking about it all evening....this movie was nearly perfect. Actors were pitch perfect... amanda peet especially. The script couldnt have more portrayed more perfectly New York City living- the characters, the apartment talk, and I was sad to see the reviews this movie received after thinking about it all evening....this movie was nearly perfect. Actors were pitch perfect... amanda peet especially. The script couldnt have more portrayed more perfectly New York City living- the characters, the apartment talk, and most importantly the balance between having a stone front and a warm heart. it was a fabulous hilarious and thoughtful movie. well done!… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

DanaM

May 23, 2010

Very entertaining story. Well directed and acted. Worth the $10 to see on the big screen. My wife and I found ourselves laughing out loud many times.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

OscarPicks2010

Dec 21, 2010

From the director that brought you Lovely & Amazing, Nicole Holofcener's Please Give developed interesting characters and a well-related plot. Charms from both the leads, Oliver Patt & Catherine Keener, helped a lot with their complex characters. Please Give is a simple plot where economyFrom the director that brought you Lovely & Amazing, Nicole Holofcener's Please Give developed interesting characters and a well-related plot. Charms from both the leads, Oliver Patt & Catherine Keener, helped a lot with their complex characters. Please Give is a simple plot where economy and relationship problems occurs. But the director and writer is so elegant in their story-telling and directing, it is almost impossible to not be interested in Please Give.Going slow at times and acting from supporting roles seems laughable, Please Give still gave a lot without being asked.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MikeD

Jun 7, 2010

Enjoyable and different, but when it's over you're not quite sure what to make of it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

LisaC

Jun 12, 2010

What a horrible movie! I am so glad I saw this alone, and didn't inflict the tedium, incoherence, and gratuitous poor taste on a friend. I am a big indie movie fan, and am so disappointed in Keener and Platt for stooping to such a poor movie.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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