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Cinema Junkie by Beth Accomando

Margot at the Wedding

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Nicole Kidman in Margot at the Wedding (Paramount Classics)

With a glut of holiday releases, I have to apologize for falling a bit behind. Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding (opened December 7 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) was one of the films we discussed last month on Film Club but I'm only now getting around to posting a review.

Noah Baumbach, unlike his contemporary Jason Reitman (who this month delivers Juno ), is a young director suffering a bit from the sophomore jinx. That's when a director delivers a knockout first feature that builds high expectations for the next. But when the second one arrives there's a sigh of disappointment. [CORRECTION: Okay I blew it. I completely forgot about Baumbach's two films from the 90s so technically he's not suffering a sophomore jinx but rather a senior one. Anyway Margot 's a letdown after his sort of re-debut with The Squid and the Whale in 2005. Thanks to a reader for pointing out my error.] Now Margot isn't bad, but it is disappointing. Baumbach scored big with his first indie drama, The Squid and the Whale , about a dysfunctional contemporary New York family. His second film Margot at the Wedding is also about a dysfunctional family, this time focusing on a pair of sisters played by Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

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Amy
December 14, 2007 at 08:41 PM
TSATW may have been sublime but it wasn't Baumbach's first film, it was his fifth film, MATW is his sixth film. -----

Beth Accomando
December 14, 2007 at 09:39 PM
Thanks Amy... you're sort of right. Margot is Baumbach's 4th feature as a director. One of his six films was a short (Conrad and Butler Take a Vacation) and one he only served as writer (Highball, he's not the credited director). My bad for forgetting about Kicking and Screaming and Mr. Jealousy (which maybe should be forgotten). I completely blanked on his films from the 90s, even after hearing him talk about the fact that another movie had used his title of Kicking and Screaming. Thanks for the fact checking.

Max
January 17, 2008 at 10:51 PM
It's not Kicking and Screaming nor is it Squid and Whale. Probably a victim of high hopes from me. But, it not bad. Not nearly the drop off from watching Knocked Up and all the while thinking that the Tao of Steve was much better.

Vancouver Wedding
June 08, 2008 at 04:27 AM
This is definitely better than Knocked up.