While it may not warm the heart as much as Meg Ryan's earlier films like "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail," the new "Hanging Up" still offers plenty of laughs and features some very commendable performances.
Part of the reason behind the film's success is that its director - who also stars in the movie - is actress Diane Keaton. Her knowledge of human interaction as an actress works to the film's advantage because it revolves around people - in this case, the members of an estranged family.
The plot, which Delia Ephron adapted from her book of the same name, centers around Eve (Ryan) and her relationship with her two sisters, Georgia (Keaton) and Maddy (Lisa Kudrow), and her father Lou (Walter Matthau). Eve is a busy party planner who tries to balance her career with her roles as wife, mother, sister and daughter. However, she resents the fact that her sisters left her with the responsibility of caring for their dying father.
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"Hanging Up" is a dramatic comedy. Although the film has some funny moments, its emphasis remains on the dramatic aspects. Eve has recently checked Lou, an alcoholic who suffers from Alzheimer's and depression, into the hospital. Throughout the movie, whenever the phone rings, Eve always expects it to be a nurse or doctor informing her that Lou has died.
Both of Eve's sisters are too preoccupied with their own lives to care for either her or their father. Maddy is a daytime soap opera actress who longs to be recognized, while Georgia is a famous businesswoman who has just started her self-titled magazine.
When Georgia gives a speech at a women's conference, Eve and Maddy sit in shock as Georgia talks about how hard it is to watch a parent die, although in reality she has never even visited Lou in the hospital.
After her speech, the sisters get into a huge argument. All of a sudden, Eve's phone rings. The suspenseful music leads the audience to believe that this is the dreaded phone call she has been waiting for. As it turns out, Lou has not died but has fallen into a coma.
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This is a melodramatic move for a film that advertises itself as a comedy - it teases the audience with its seriousness, and by swinging between humor and gravity, the audience is unsure of how to perceive it.
The actors all give convincing performances, probably because they have played similar roles in other movies. Ryan plays the same fun loving, comical character found in many of her movies, and Kudrow's flighty character is similar to her "Friends" role. Keaton is also reminiscent of her "Baby Boom" role. Even Matthau's character can be compared to the curmudgeonly Mr. Wilson he played in the movie version of "Dennis the Menace."
While it is at times lacking in originality, "Hanging Up" is still an entertaining, and, for the most part, funny movie. It gives hope that all families can work out their problems, no matter how many hang-ups they might have.
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