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Movies / On DVD / Gray Matters
Gray Matters

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Gray Matters (2007)

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Reviews Counted:63

Fresh:5

Rotten:58

Average Rating:3.8/10

Consensus: The rapid fire dialogue and witticisms comes off only as a contrived gimmick.

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Gray (Heather Graham) and Sam (Thomas Cavanagh) are inseparable. They live together, take ballroom dancing classes, and jog in the park together. They'd make a very attractive couple were it not... Gray (Heather Graham) and Sam (Thomas Cavanagh) are inseparable. They live together, take ballroom dancing classes, and jog in the park together. They'd make a very attractive couple were it not for the fact that they're brother and sister. In a bright and beautiful version of Manhattan, where every day appears to be kissed with spring sunshine, Gray keeps herself busy hanging with Sam, working for an advertising agency, and attending kooky sessions with her flaky therapist, Sydney (Sissy Spacek). All is well, until brother Sam up and falls in love with the gorgeous zoologist, Charlie (Bridget Moynahan). Gray is happy for him, but panicked about how it will affect their relationship--particularly after Sam announces that he and Charlie are getting married. Gray does her best to cope and be supportive, but things take an unexpected turn when she suddenly finds herself sharing a drunken, passionate kiss with Charlie the night before the wedding. The next day, Charlie doesn't even recall their embrace. But the kiss has opened up a whole new world for Gray... GRAY MATTERS is an ultra-light look at homosexuality and the challenges of coming out late in life. Graham's cutely neurotic Gray comes off as a sort of lesbian Lucille Ball--silly, and without much substance. However, it is perhaps a positive sign for the gay rights movement that they now even have their own powder-puff rom-coms--the kind that seem ready-made for teen slumber parties. Alan Cumming and Molly Shannon lend a bit of comedic spark with their turns as Gray's supportive, outspoken pals. [More]

Starring: Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, Saffron Burrows, Sissy Spacek

Starring: Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, Saffron Burrows, Sissy Spacek, Alan Cumming, Molly Shannon, Rachel Shelley, Gloria Gaynor, Bridget Moynahan

Director: Sue Kramer

Director: Sue Kramer
Producer: Jill Footlick
Composer: Andrew Hollander
Studio: Yari Film Group

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Reviews for Gray Matters

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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Pretty quickly it disintegrates into a mishmash of character caricatures competing for airtime in which to spit out overly quirky dialogue in predictable set-ups.

Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com | comment Comment
08/23/08
Heather Huntington
Heather Huntington
ReelzChannel.com

While the light and whimsical comic timing of the leads carry the film far, even they cannot blind us to Gray Matters' many shortcomings.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Graham carries this for a while, but Kramer spends entirely too much time weakly satirizing Graham's job at an advertising agency, where Molly Shannon's a kvetching coworker.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/03/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Forgettable coming-out comedy for older teens.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
11/01/07
Sandie Angulo Chen
Sandie Angulo Chen
Common Sense Media

...an amiable misfire.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
07/20/07
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

In its genre writer-director Sue Kramer's film sets a new record for bright shining peepers and dimply smirks. It's enough to kill Buster Keaton's entire family.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/30/07
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

Despite being bogged down by several distracting, extended dance numbers, this zany farce has just enough momentum and surprises along the way to hold one's interest for the duration. But it'll help immeasurably if you're a devotee of daytime soap operas.

Full Review Source: EURWeb | comment Comment
06/28/07
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
EURWeb

Gray's matters are pretty mundane, to tell you the truth

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/14/07
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Decked out in its fondness for old Hollywood films and American songbook standards, Gray Matters borrows the wallpaper from a Nancy Meyers movie to decorate its empty room.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
03/27/07
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

Gray Matters feels dated: Gray's self-identity confusion is less "adorable" than annoying, and both she and Charlie appear exceptionally clueless about what's going on.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/17/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Much too eager to please rather than dealing with the messier issues around sexual identity.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/13/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

I can’t recommend it for gay audiences, the presumed target demographic, because they are likely to find it innocuous at best and downright insulting at worst.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
03/10/07
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

The writing isn't sharp enough for the film to work as comedy, nor are the characters real enough for the audience to connect emotionally.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/09/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

First-time director Sue Kramer allows [Graham] to mug her way through every scene. You find yourself constantly wanting to cry out: 'Heather, please, a little less!'

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/09/07
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

All the characters feel superficial, a sensation heightened by a roster of too-cute secondary characters.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
03/09/07
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

[Heather Graham's] never looked better, despite the unflattering digital video format, which makes it all the more tragic that she's not appearing in better material.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
03/09/07
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald

There is, one has to assume, a pretty good old-fashioned screwball comedy in all this, but director-writer Sue Kramer seems to have grown up watching Rhoda so Graham, usually a capable actress, has not a word of actual dialogue, only gag lines.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
03/09/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press

Nearly every scene of this movie rings hollow, mainly because we can never really believe that what we're seeing up on the screen could truly happen.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/09/07
Bill Zwecker
Bill Zwecker
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This movie falls into the gray area between good and just okay.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
03/09/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Is New York City populated only by talky, insufferable singles who obsess over their trivial romantic entanglements?

Full Review Source: Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) | comment Comment
03/09/07
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Gray Matters

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