them to be real: It's a rebuke to the shallow Ya-Ya Sisterhood." In Variety, Todd McCarthy said, "Engaging, intermittently insightful but too glib to wring full value out of its subject matter, this brightly performed study of an extended family of females has enough going for it to quickly graduate from the fest circuit to a respectable career in specialized release . . . [it] evinces keen antenna for (mostly) female foibles, a good ear for dialogue, talent for directing thesps and a clean, unfussy visual style." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "Nicole Holofcener throws a bunch of issues on the table and takes time to linger over them, without worrying much about where her story's going or even if she has one. The result is a gutsy little picture and a nice slice of life." In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers opined, "In this painfully funny and touching look at the vanities and insecurities that a mother can pass on to her daughters in the name of love, writer-director Nicole Holofcener does a chick flick right . . . Holofcener's film feels untidily honest. It's true to life, not to the Hollywood version." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said, "Like the best of personal, independent cinema . . . it is both marvelously observed and completely individual. There is no film like this film, and that is something you don't hear every day . . . it's so accurate about how people attempt meaningful emotional connections in an uncaring world of self-involvement, obtuseness and free-floating insecurity that it ought to be put in a time capsule." Awards and nominations Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress (Emily Mortimer, winner) Independent Spirit Award for Best Film (nominee) Independent Spirit Award for Best Director (nominee) Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay (nominee) Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress (Catherine Keener, nominee) Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance (Raven Goodwin, nominee) Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay (nominee) Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Keener, nominee) Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture (Mortimer, nominee) Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (Mortimer, nominee) Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance (Goodwin, nominee) See also List of American films of 2001 References External links 2001 films 2001 comedy-drama films American independent films Lionsgate films Films directed by Nicole