screening

Web-Exclusive Review: The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee

Alternative Press - Tim Karan on 11/25/09 @ 12:59 PM - altpress.com

DRAMA
THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE (Screen Media Films)
STARS > Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Blake Lively, Winona Ryder, Maria Bello
DIRECTOR > Rebecca Miller
OPENS > Now playing
RATING > 3.5/5

In 140 characters or less, the plot of The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee can be described as such: Stepford-esque domestic goddess with a checkered past marries a much older publishing-house editor in an attempt to find financial and emotional stability. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller (The Battle Of Jack And Rose, Personal Velocity), this cinematic interpretation of Miller's first novel is told through more than 40 years worth of present-day events, past-tense flashbacks and one really confusing animated sequence. The audience follows Pippa's (played by the always fabulous Robin Wright Penn) evolution from the submissive daughter of a seemingly perfect '60s housewife--who just so happens to be addicted to speed--to a freewheeling, free-drugging and free-loving teenage rebel (depicted surprisingly well by Blake Lively) who decides soon enough that it's better to evolve than fade away.

The film is a beautifully poignant snapshot of what happens when the life you thought you wanted doesn't turn out the way you planned; however, the cheesy, fortune-cookie dialogue and overwrought life lessons revealed through what can only be called a "menopausal melodrama" are a little too heavy-handed for our taste. The movie wasn't an entire wash, though. It's worth the price of admission just to see a svelte Keanu Reeves rock a tribal chest piece. (Yes, ladies, that means he's shirtless. Just sayin'.) --Leslie Simon

Comments

Post a Comment

No comments yet!



  |     |   Share   |   Print this article