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"The widespread critical mauling doled out to Sex And The City 2 was not, it has been argued, a result of its supposed cultural insensitivity, shamelessly consumerist ideology or even just the quality of the the film. According to some, the critics hated it because they were all men - even the ones with female names presumably - who couldn&amp;#039;t deal with a movie about women by women (and supposedly honorary woman Michael Patrick King). Nonsense, of course, and something which the deserved positive US response to Please Give should put to rest. Here, writer/director Nicole Holofcener hooks up with muse Catherine Keener for the fourth time in a witty, wry drama focusing on the lives of three generations of women. In it, Kate (Keener) buys second-hand furniture from the family of people who have just died and sells it on in her vintage store. She works with her husband Alex (Oliver Platt), and both struggle to get along with their teenage daughter Abby (Sarah Steele). Meanwhile, the whole family waits for elderly next-door neighbour Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert) to die so they can knock through their interconnecting wall and convert the space into one mega-apartment. Andra is visited frequently by her pretty, kindly granddaughter Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) and less frequently by Rebecca&amp;#039;s just as pretty, but quite bitchy, sister Mary (Amanda Peet). It&amp;#039;s a dialogue-heavy piece, but at 90 minutes it doesn&amp;#039;t outstay its welcome. The sharp, dry comedy always keeps things ticking along, even as you&amp;#039;re forced to watch through your fingers for the most awkward/funny scenes. Andra and Mary&amp;#039;s seeming inability to censor their thoughts provides most of the laugh-out-loud moments, but poor Kate&amp;#039;s pained attempts to help people less fortunate than herself come pretty close on several occasions. Sometimes you&amp;#039;re not sure if you want to laugh, cry or will the ground to swallow everything up. Some have complained that Holofcener&amp;#039;s movies lack a &amp;quot;plot&amp;quot;, but this is far from an artsy, wordy film about nothing. Plenty happens as the characters explore bored marriages, troublesome teenagers, the absurdity of middle class guilt, jobs, dating, family, love and the rest. At its heart, the film seems to be about all about growing up and growing old, with both so unnavoidable as we experience the passing of time. We all know that teenagers are clumsy, selfish, awkward in their own skin and constantly struggling for acceptance from within and without, but Please Give illustrates how true that is for most of us as we carry on getting older until the inevitable end. Keener is magnificent - as ever - in the lead role, and she&amp;#039;s matched by great turns from Peet, Hall, Platt, Steele and especially Morgan Guilbert as the thinking-aloud grandmother. There&amp;#039;s the rare occasion where the boldness of the dialogue is laid on a little thick and it drags you out of the moment, but it doesn&amp;#039;t happen often, and the odd excess is more than forgiveable given just how well the rest of the film works.  &amp;gt; What do you think of the movie? Share your views "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/review/a227069/please-give/>