Based on a Book

"HILARIOUS. . . A CHARMING, ENTERTAINING READ."--Los Angeles Times"WONDERFUL. . . Eve Mozell is having a lousy day, and she hasn't even gotten past breakfast yet. Her father, a senile ex-alcoholic whose idea of a good joke is goosing his woman doctor, sta... Read More

"HILARIOUS. . . A CHARMING, ENTERTAINING READ."
--Los Angeles Times
"WONDERFUL. . . Eve Mozell is having a lousy day, and she hasn't even gotten past breakfast yet. Her father, a senile ex-alcoholic whose idea of a good joke is goosing his woman doctor, started phoning Eve at 6 a.m. Her teenage son, who alternately ignores and lectures her, is off to a séance. ('You know, Mom, all doors are entrances. Think about it.') And a quick glance in the mirror turns out to be a big mistake. Oh, God, is that my face? . . . I need a vacation. No. This is just me. Me at forty-four. . . . What a terrific debut."
--Newsweek
"TRUE AND TOUCHING."
--People
"Delia Ephron is blessed with the driest of wits, the tenderest of hearts, and an uncanny ear for the way people really talk. Do yourself a favor and curl up with Hanging Up--but unplug the phone first."
--Armistead Maupin
"MOVING AND FUNNY. . . In some ways, Hanging Up is a funhouse version of King Lear."
--Newsday


From the Trade Paperback edition.

You've got to admire a movie that embraces womanhood as so few mainstream movies do, and Hanging Up deserves credit for combining issues of sisterhood and elderly parent care while relying on neuroses to carry its unconventional plot. But you've also got... Read More

You've got to admire a movie that embraces womanhood as so few mainstream movies do, and Hanging Up deserves credit for combining issues of sisterhood and elderly parent care while relying on neuroses to carry its unconventional plot. But you've also got to lament this botched "dramedy" from screenwriting sisters Nora and Delia Ephron (adapting the latter's novel) and director Diane Keaton, who lack a coherent plan for illuminating their trio of female siblings. Despite a sharp focus on Meg Ryan as the middle sister Eve--a capable Los Angeles event planner--the movie never quite seems to know where it's going, and you feel like the best scenes are merely happy accidents. In exploring the foibles of family, Keaton fared better with her earlier film Unstrung Heroes.

In addition to directing, Keaton plays the eldest sister Georgia, a celebrity magazine editor, and Lisa Kudrow is kid sister Maddy, a soap-opera actress who's nearly as self-absorbed as Georgia. They leave it to Eve to care for their declining father (Walter Matthau), a retired screenwriter who slips in and out of lucidity and is, at best, a cantankerous curmudgeon whose estranged wife (Cloris Leachman) has long since severed all family ties. This is potent material--at least it could have been--and Ryan admirably struggles to hold the film together. But it's ultimately a losing battle as the movie, so full of cell phones and disconnected people (hence the title), becomes disconnected itself, offering hollow humor and a few memorable moments with characters whose problems are too minimal to worry about. --Jeff Shannon