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Movies / On DVD / Ira & Abby
Ira & Abby

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Ira & Abby (2007)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:28

Rotten:13

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Ira & Abby overcomes the somewhat clichéd plot with witty dialogue and earnest performances.

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Ira Black, 33, is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish and has so many issues he can't fit them into 12 years of analysis. He can't finish his dissertation, he can't commit to his longtime girlfriend, and... Ira Black, 33, is brilliant, neurotic, Jewish and has so many issues he can't fit them into 12 years of analysis. He can't finish his dissertation, he can't commit to his longtime girlfriend, and he's incapable of making a decision, even if it's just what to order at the diner. Abby Willoughby, 30, is a free spirit who's better at solving her friends' problems at the gym than selling memberships. When the two meet, the impossible happens: they fall in love, meet each other's parents and decide to get married, all in a few breathless hours. And life is good, until Ira finds out that Abby is a divorcee... two times over. Despite even more therapy, Ira can't help but feel that their marriage was built on a lie. They divorce quietly, while cracks grow wider in their parents' marriages. Ira's gorgeous analyst mother Arlene starts a secret liaison with Abby's charming voiceover artist father Michael, while Abby's mother Lynne wonders why she's no longer attractive to her husband and Ira's father Sy pretends not to notice. Of course, Ira soon realizes he's miserable without Abby. He asks her forgiveness and they marry again, this time making more realistic vows. But Ira's jealousy issues and Abby's free-floating tendencies lead him to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend. When Abby finds out about their parents' infidelities, the three couples converge for a hilarious group therapy scene with the eight therapists we have met in the film. Ira and Abby ultimately realize that they were meant to be together. But divorced. Because marriage just isn't for them... Ira & Abby was written by Jennifer Westfeldt, who co-wrote, co-produced and played the title role in the indie hit Kissing Jessica Stein. Westfeldt, a 2004 Tony nominee for her turn in the Broadway revival of Wonderful Town, stars as Abby, while the charming up and comer, Chris Messina (most recently seen as "Ted" on the final season of HBO's Six Feet Under) stars as Ira. Fred Willard, known for such films as Anchorman, A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show, and for his Emmy-nominated turn on Everybody Loves Raymond, co-stars as Michael, and Golden Globe winner and multiple Emmy nominee Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) plays Abby's mother Lynne. The well-known comedian/actor Robert Klein (Two Weeks' Notice, How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days), co-stars as Ira's father, Sy, and Judith Light, best known as the star of the long-running sitcom Who's The Boss? will play the role of Arlene. -- © Official Site [More]

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Frances Conroy, Judith Light

Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, Jason Alexander, Chris Parnell, Darrell Hammond

Director: Robert Carey

Director: Robert Carey
Screenwriter: Jennifer Westfeldt
Producer: Brad Zions
Composer: Marcelo Zavros
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Reviews for Ira & Abby

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Ira and Abby is launched with an infectious elation, a no-guts-no-glory take on love that's joyous...

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/09/07
John Anderson
John Anderson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The result is light but surprisingly fresh, and even a bit insightful.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
10/10/07
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

If Dharma and Greg went to therapy--a lot--you might end up with something like Robert Cary's appealing but uneven romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/05/07
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com

A romantic comedy about a kooky couple that sinks in a whirlpool of therapeutic clichés.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment 1 Comment
09/15/07
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Ira and Abby is far from being an unlikable movie. It has a charming lunacy about it, which allows for much enjoyment, or at least comfortable, familiar, routine easiness (like a marriage).

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/17/07
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

...Ira & Abby radiates a breathless charm, due in no small part to Ms. Westfeldt’s sharp dialogue and engagingly unmannered performance.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/18/07
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The steady addition of more and more characters served to fragment what could have been a charming romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
02/03/08
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

In the season that has seen such loathsome films as Good Luck Chuck and The Heartbreak Kid, Ira & Abby is remarkable proof that a compelling and funny love story can appear on celluloid.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
10/26/07
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

The group-therapy scene that wraps it up brings those substantial themes together in a way that’s uproariously funny.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
10/11/07
Jason Ferguson
Jason Ferguson
Orlando Weekly

It is a pleasant enough way to while away 90 minutes, but lacks the consistency of the weight to make it more than a genial diversion.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
09/22/07
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

A deeply funny follow-up to Kissing Jessica Stein from that film’s co-writer and co-star Westfeldt.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 1 Comment
09/14/07
Chad Greene
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

On paper, Ira and Abby sounds like a sitcom (in fact, it sounds like Dharma & Greg). But intelligence and fine acting shoves it up several notches.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/19/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

We're in Woody Allen/Christopher Guest territory here with a bright, fast-paced sitcom without the required happy ending.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
07/10/07
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

Muddle-headed.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
09/22/07
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

A formidable crowd-pleaser.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/15/07
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

Ira & Abby, in its breezy, low-key way, will make audiences happy -- something [director] Westfeldt already knows how to do.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/05/07
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times

Neither Westfeldt's sunny charm nor the best efforts of a stellar supporting cast can haul her formulaic screenplay out of its tired shtick.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment 1 Comment
09/14/07
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
01/26/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

The movie benefits from an exceptionally strong line-up of supporting characters beautifully played by a top-notch cast.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/18/07
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's sunny, oh-so-New-York and ever-so cute, and Messina and Westfeldt, under-used actors, are equally beguiling.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
10/11/07
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
 
 
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Latest News for Ira & Abby

September 13, 2007: Critical Consensus: Brave One Isn't Tops, Mr. Woodcock is Flaccid, Hunting Party is Busted
This week at the movies, we've got vigilantes (The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster), gym teachers (Mr. Woodcock starring Billy Bob Thornton and Susan Sarandon), war... More...

August 22, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

July 27, 2007: Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible. Opens in new window
More...

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