Four stars. Rated R, for profanity, sexual candor and brief nudity
By Derrick Bang
God must chuckle over how we
mortals keep screwing up our own lives.
We fret, we fuss; we second-guess
ourselves; we concoct absurdly elaborate schemes designed to accomplish this or
that, but which invariably fail; we rebound with even more ludicrous
counter-schemes.
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| When Maggie (Greta Gerwig, left) realizes that she has made a mistake by marrying John, she concocts an unlikely scheme to re-unite him with ex-wife Georgette (Julianne Moore). That's assuming, of course, that Georgette even wants him back... |
If we’d simply relax and get out
of our own way, letting nature take its course, we’d likely be much more
pleased with the results.
Writer/director Rebecca Miller’s Maggie’s Plan has great fun with this
notion. The indie filmmaker’s endearing romantic comedy — based on a story by
Karen Rinaldi — also is another fine showcase for steadily rising star Greta
Gerwig. The angst-riddled characters and New York setting make comparisons to
Woody Allen inevitable, although Miller’s focus is female-centric; she’s also
better — more organic — at skewering the pretentious affectations that make her
characters so frequently sound like recently arrived visitors from Jupiter.
I’ve often felt that Allen’s
gibes at Manhattan pomposity are made at the expense of his characters; the tone feels snooty. Miller, in great
contrast, clearly sympathizes with her protagonists, even as she exposes their narcissism;
it feels more like Miller is ruefully shaking her head, hoping that we’ll learn
by this gentler — but still quite funny — example.
Maggie Hardin (Gerwig) wants to
have a baby. Desperately. But she’s
unwilling to take the conventional approach, given a track record of
relationships that have lasted no more than six months. Artificial insemination
therefore seems the best route, and Maggie has selected a slightly off-kilter,
former college acquaintance (Travis Fimmel, as Guy) who abandoned a mathematics
degree in favor of becoming a pickle entrepreneur.
Despite the decision having been
made, Maggie remains conflicted. She shares her doubts with a personal Greek
chorus: longtime best friend Tony (Bill Hader) and his wife, Felicia (Maya
Rudolph). He’s a lawyer; she and Maggie are work colleagues at The New School,
in Greenwich Village. Although Tony and Felicia are a bit crusty with each
other, theirs is a loving and successful relationship, and they also care
deeply about Maggie ... even if they frequently fail to understand her.
Maggie’s chance encounter with
New School part-time teacher John Harding (Ethan Hawke) leads to a fast
friendship. They spark: He’s a frustrated debut novelist trying to find his
voice; she’s an eager and sympathetic reader. The bond deepens, and that’s a
problem; John is married to Georgette (Julianne Moore), and they have two
children.
