JenniferWestfeldt Tagged Articles at Cinematical

There is something very dated about therapy in movies. Sure, millions of real people continue to see psychiatrists, psychologists, analysts and therapists, but the depiction of therapy on screen feels so, I don't know, yesterday. Or maybe it's neurotic characters that seem old hat, but either way therapy has at least become dated by association. Of course, as a genre, romantic comedy needs the occasional shrink, because it needs that convention of neurotic characters and those neurotic characters generally (and generically) need therapy. One day, perhaps, someone can rewrite the book on romantic comedy, which hasn't been adequately revised or updated since Woody Allen turned in his version thirty years ago. Until then, we are stuck with movies like Ira and Abby, which utilizes not one, not two, but at least eight therapists or analysts.

The movie even makes a distinction about the difference between therapists and analysts (therapists talk; analysts listen) and hardly features a character that isn't one or the other. There are personal analysts, group therapists and marriage counselors, doctors assigned to every stereotypically Jewish surname known to screenwriters (Rosenblum, check; Goldberg, check; Silverberg, check; etc.). While neither of the two title characters is technically in the profession, Ira (Chris Messina) is writing his dissertation in order to become a psychologist and Abby (Jennifer Westfeldt) is constantly told she should open her own practice, simply because she's so good with people.

When I saw Kissing Jessica Stein years ago, I thought Jennifer Westfeldt was going to explode on the scene. The film was a decent romantic comedy, and it seemed like one of those indie efforts that would pave the way to a Parker Posey type of career that jumps off from the low-budget and into the mainstream. That was six years ago, and for a long time, there was nothing but some television appearances and a barely-seen thriller called Keep Your Distance. Then, way back in November of 2005, Erik Davis posted about her sophomore feature, then called Ira & Abby: A Divorce Story.

It was filmed back then in New York City, and now it finally has distribution. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Magnolia Pictures has nabbed the U.S. distribution rights to the film, which is now called simply, Ira & Abby. It's described pretty plainly as "the tale of a neurotic New Yorker who falls in love with a free spirit," with a quote by Ray Price: "Staking out the comedic travails of sex, love and misunderstanding, Jennifer Westfeldt continues to establish herself as a chronicler of her generation." That is all sorts of vague, but Erik's original description makes things more interesting -- "a couple who, after marrying on a whim, ignite a chain of affairs involving their parents, execs and therapists." Between a cast that includes Fred Willard, Frances Conroy and Judith Light, and an audience award from the L.A. Film Festival, methinks Westfeldt is getting her second shot at fame. Or, maybe she'll just make us wait years in between each of her features.