Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Deservedly award winning -Pulitzer in 2000- (for drama, despite being not more pessimistic than most marriage statistics,) this play in a movie is a superb educative study of relationships. The premise is probably more the comparative study of two marriages than anything else. One marriage (Gabe-Karen, Quaid-MacDowell) is working. The other (Tom-Beth, Kinnear-Colette) is unravelling. Their histories are depicted in parallel lines as the couples are interacting with each other and with their respective spouses. The flashback to the Martha's vineyard scene is illustrative: The separating couple is set up by their friends. With some facility we can assume they are embarking on the marriage route more in order to comply with their friends'expectations and general conformism than genuine attraction. They keep it up for 12 years, then it fails. The successful couple are baffled, angered, supportive, judgemental, all in turns and sporadically simultaneously about the other couple. But while they do this, they show countless times how their own marriage is solid and functioning: similarities, common activities, compromise, mutual help and respect. The script by Margulies is great, the inclusion as drama is unfair, as it could be classified as comedy, romance or even sentimental "study" movie. The direction by Norman Jewison is impeccable. Watch it and rank it up there with the other major contributions HBO has brought to humanity!

An HBO original presentation directed by Norman Jewison deals with not so blissful marriage. Two couples(Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette)have been friends for a dozen years--sharing summer vacations, talking about their children and gourmet food. One couple decides to call it quits and the other is put in the crossfire trying not to take sides. On a whole, this movie gets real abrasive quick. Your attitude toward the characters gets to the point...who gives a s*^t. Collette is so pathetic it hurts to watch her. And I still don't know who ever told MacDowell she could act. People may consider this a triumph for Jewison and HBO; I'm sorry, I was really hoping for better.

No character makes sense, everybody is wrong. Gabe and especially the ultra conservative Karen constantly temper in their friend's decisions, which are really none of their business (as if my best friend had a right to tell me who I should be with or what my goals and principles in life should be). Tom on the other hand is a self-righteous bastard who always thinks of himself as the victim. He loves talking about himself and doesn't accept anyone else's opinion. And Beth, well, she's just an unbelievably annoying person. I could see how anyone would want to leave her. A movie about failed marriages and love should show how nobody is wrong and everybody is right. The thing is, none of the four characters here is believable and the dialog is painful at times. From the first time Tom and Beth meet it's hard to believe that the two of them are even attracted to each other. It's also hard to believe that somebody as far removed from reality as Karen is living on this planet and happily married.Nope, the writers got it all wrong and not even the cast can save this movie. Sorry.

Having seen Donald Margulies' play when it opened in New York, I was interested in what Norman Jewison, the director, had done with it for the screen version. It helps that Mr. Margulies did his own adaptation, although, it appears to this viewer, the stage version was more satisfying. Not that there's anything wrong with the film, it's just that the cast in the play was far superior than these well intentioned actors we see in the movie. Mr. Margulies has tried to open his play, but it just doesn't go anywhere.The basic premise, and a caveat to good friends, is to stay away from "fixing up" prospective marriage partners, as things in life are a bit more complicated than a good ending in a book, a play, a movie, or human relations. Karen and Gabe are happily married. They conjure to arrange a meeting with Beth, a painter, and Tom, a lawyer. Basically, the idea of having mutual friends meet one another, might not be bad, but in reality things should be let alone and let nature takes its course. The bright idea back fires on Karen, who, upon hearing at the beginning of the film that her best friend, Beth, is divorcing Tom, is visibly upset. She feels betrayed by these two people she was instrumental in bringing together.It's hard for both, Gabe and Karen, to think where they went wrong in their match making roles. They never take into consideration that Beth is totally wrong for Tom, and vice versa. The problem is that this couple don't think that Beth and Tom have found new partners in what appears to be a much solid relationships than what they had together. Karen and Gabe are crushed, but in reality, not everything is perfect in their own marriage. We get hints that yes, they are not completely happy, but they have decided to stay in the marriage out of decency and out of duty to their two boys, which is what Beth and Tom have failed to do. Call them old fashioned, but one has to give Karen and Gabe a lot of credit for at least trying to stay together as a family.Andie MacDowell is Karen; she is a beautiful woman. In the movie, Ms. MacDowell appears a bit distant. She loved to bring people together and resents their friends separation. Ms. MacDowell's Karen comes across as a hard and judgmental person. Dennis Quaid tries hard to give Gabe warmth. Perhaps he comes across as the best of the four principals. Toni Collette's Beth is an enigma until her confrontation with Karen at the restaurant, then, we see a woman that is not shy in telling her best friend off as she embarks in a new relationship. Greg Kinnear is Tom. He is perhaps the weakest link in the quartet, as he is perhaps, not treated fairly by Karen, or Gabe.The movie remains a bit theatrical, but Norman Jewison has done wonders with the material.