Aw, Rebecca Hall. =)

This offbeat little film is quite charming with its darkly comic tone and delightfully abrasive dialogue but it also feels too underdeveloped making it such a missed opportunity.

This calm, quiet and warm dramedy might not be great in its storytelling, but gives rewarding female characters -- they are all obsessed with something all the way just because they fail as human beings, like us all. And I guess that is great and rare. The acting is also lovely. I really fell in love with Rebecca Hall, but Cath Keener is still my favorite lady.

Good character drama.

There were a couple of good lines and it was well acted. Although I don't think it was the writers' or director's intention, this film did a good job of showing how altruism (self-sacrifice) perpetuates misery and does nothing to alleviate the guilt it's based on. Although it did it's best, this film didn't quite succeed in being depressing.

Classic New York stories about class and body consciousness, and the items that will live after us. An unagitated charmer.

Starts off w likeably flawed characters interacting in honest& funny ways, but Holofcener loses her usually subtle hand when Keener's formerly even-keeled protagonist unravels in2 a wildly disproportionate paralysis in order 2 make a thematic point. 1 wonders how she managed2 make it so far w/out falling apart. The film does engage in a mostly balanced examination of charity, but ultimately delivers what seems 2 b a fairly obvious message 2 anyone not privileged enough2 indulge in so much guilt

It's no Lovely and Amazing, but Holofcener once again steals my heart in this epic little drama about selfishness and forgiveness.

There is something missing from this pool of quirky characters and off beat wit. I enjoyed it as a moderately dark comedy, but its plot felt more like a sketch than a fully developed movie, which left the characters stranded, unable to be anything more than anecdotal. Theme alone is not strong enough to tie these disparate pieces together, and the closing doesn't hold very much emotional weight as the film has been scoring jokes of these same characters and issues for the last hour and a half.

A passable ensemble piece, offering some compelling performances and funny moments. The script tends to take unexpected, uninvolving turns, though I guess it coincides with the unexpected display of affection which alleviates a person's guilt. Alright as a whole, not really worth a recommendation, but not awful either. Hated the ending though, shows you how selfish the girl character is, on top of being repelling, rude and condescending.

An instantly forgettable bit of soapy fluff that offers nothing new to the medium. Catherine Keener and Rebecca Hall are among my favorite actresses of their respective generations, and they do their best to salvage it, but they just can't give this film any merit.

Please Give is specific about its middle-class, white, Manhattan characters but it's also universal in the way one social class' anxieties are understood rather than simply celebrated.

Despite an interesting conceit, very few of the characters are likable, which makes the film itself hard to watch.

A slight film, but likable and honest. It sure is nice to see female characters actually working (mammography, facials, negotiating for dead people's furniture) instead of just carrying briefcases or stethoscopes and pretending to work. Keener, Hall and Platt are very good, but Peet really impresses as Hall's bitchy alcoholic sister. Ann Guilbert--perhaps best known as Rob and Laura's neighbor Millie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show"--is superb in her role as a very disagreeable little old lady.

"Ah, the guilt of the privileged." - Andrew Schenker

Hard to really say why I liked this one, but I did. Maybe it was because it seemed to be, at its core, about inherently decent people who are trying to do the right thing (some more "selflessly" than others) but end up screwing things up and making their life worse. The performances are mostly very good but I'm not sure why Amanda Peet's character had to be such a complete shrew. It bought an unwelcome cartoonish presence into an otherwise relatable ensemble. Ending also felt a little flat.

The satire and portrayal of two families work equally well and while the subplot about the affair is threading familiar ground everything rings true. The fact that the grandmother was so unlikeable without resorting to caricature made her seem very real, her inconsiderate bluntness the source of several humourous moments.