as Joan Levine Allen Fitzpatrick as Matthew Levine, Joan's Husband Tovah Feldshuh as Judy Stein Robert Ari as Sidney Stein Brian Stepanek as Peter John Cariani as Chuck Michael Mastro as Martin Carson Elrod as Sebastian Ben Weber as Larry Nick Corley as Howard David Aaron Baker as Danny Stein Jennifer Carta as Rachel, Danny's Fiancée Peter Hirsch as Stanley Schoenberg Jon Hamm as Charles Esther Wurmfeld as Grandma Esther Michael Ealy as Greg Michael Showalter as Stephen Tibor Feldman as Roland Ilana Levine as Helen's New Girlfriend Alysia Reiner as Schuller Gallery Artist Naomi Scott as Seductive Woman at Gallery Julie Lauren as Josh's Date Idina Menzel as Bridesmaid Vinny Vella as Cab Driver Adele Reichman as Grandma Interrogating Helen Hillel Friedman as Rabbi Release Festival screenings The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on April 21, 2001, receiving the Audience Award for Best Feature Film and a Critics' Special Jury Award. The film was next shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, with screenings scheduled the day before and the day after the 9/11 attacks. According to the DVD commentary track by Westfeldt and Juergensen, both screenings took place, with the second screening on September 12 producing audible gasps among audience members at the sight of the World Trade Center. The two filmmakers decided to eliminate the nine or ten scenes featuring the Twin Towers because they were not integral to the story and distracted from it. Critical reception The film was hailed by critics upon release. It withstood some criticism from the LGBT community for not dealing in depth with the difficulties of being openly gay, but even among these criticisms, it was praised for portraying a same-sex relationship in a positive light. The website AfterEllen.com, which tracks the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media, reviewed the film positively. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 83% "fresh" rating based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10. The Advocate magazine listed the film as an essential film for LGBT viewers, stating that "By no means is it a model lesbian movie — in fact, the film is a more honest look at bisexuality and sexual fluidity — but it is certainly a movie that encourages exploration and self-awareness." In the book Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire, Lisa M. Diamond cites the film as a notable example of female