Kevin L
I didn't so much buy that Minnie would fall hard for Moskowitz. The guy was a loose cannon with a short fuse, not to mention that mug and lack of any future prospects. Then again, seems she doesn't have much of a track record. And his other lady friend did insist on him having a sweet side she liked.
That said, it's still the brilliant Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassell in the lead roles. And it's still Cassavetes directing, and acting, so the bones are bare, realism is plain, and hope springs... at times.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/29/24
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Audience Member
The best comedy romance movie ever made!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
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Never shying away from the fact that its two main characters could be easily seen as repellent or toxic in their psychological disorders, this audacious drama is able to make us empathize with them while offering a sharp criticism of American society at the same time.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
Unmistakably a Cassavetes picture, shot in that vérité, quasi-improvised style that he made his own, Minnie and Moskowitz follows two odd characters (played by Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel, respectively) as they meet and fall in love. If that sounds like straightforward romantic comedy, the actual film is anything but. In Cassavetes' universe, people seem to have serious problems with their emotional regulation. Moskowitz especially runs hot and hot, while Minnie tends toward cool (so much so that she wears her sunglasses indoors and at night). And whether this is a comedy at all is an open question: I found the interactions between people to be predominantly tense, probably because of all the norm violations by Moskowitz. Minnie seems to have a similar reaction but comes around to his honesty and openness. What you see is what you get. Apart from the central duo, we are also treated to a number of bizarre monologues from character actors such as Timothy Carey (a well-known weirdo) and Val Avery - these do verge on the comic. Cassavetes also makes a sly reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey. In other words, the film is looser and less serious than the tougher drama Cassavetes is known for (Faces, A Woman Under the Influence). As it careens to a conclusion, things fall apart a bit, as the actors break character to show the making of the film to have been a fun family affair (Rowlands and Cassavetes, who also makes an appearance as a true heel, were married and their mothers appear in the film).
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
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Audience Member
This romantic dramedy is full of Cassavetes' trademark awkward silences. Rowlands is in top form here, and Cassel give an uproarious performance as a ne'er-do-well hippie who falls in love at first sight.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
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Audience Member
Minnie Moore (Gena Rowlands) doesn't believe in the movies. As a girl, she fantasized about finding a Prince Charming in the shape of Humphrey Bogart or Clark Gable, living in a fancy house, and having kids the neighborhood could wince in jealousy over. But now Minnie's in her late 30s, fully aware that the man of her dreams probably doesn't exist. She swears that she's gotten used to the fact that reality isn't so rose-colored and things can't always turn out the way you want them to; but once you're a romantic you're always a romantic, and deep down, Minnie still finds herself hopeful that someday her Bogie will arrive on her doorstep.
Seymour Moskowitz (Seymour Cassel) is a free-spirited valet with no great ambitions in life, contented drifting from town to town, from bar to bar, causing ruckuses and speaking his mind. Ponytailed and handlebar-mustached, he has no problem with the judgmental world or his rotten temper, which seems to escalate from zero to sixty through the slightest provocation: bar fights are a norm in his life. But despite the ever mounting flaws that seem to continuously tarnish his character, he's a good man, just a lost one.
By chance, these two misfits meet after Minnie endures a particularly awful date; the man who took her out, a demented widower, nearly assaults her in a parking lot after she flatly rejects him. As if he's magnet for action-packed situations, Seymour flies to the rescue, knocking the date out and speeding away with Minnie in his beat-up pick-up truck. For Seymour, it's love at first sight; but for Minnie, this long-haired, hairy-lipped time-bomb is a red flag, not a Gable. Seymour, however, isn't the kind of guy that gives up a good woman when he sees one. So he spends the rest of "Minnie and Moskowitz" trying to win her over - and with their identical lonely hearts, it might not be so difficult after all.
"Minnie and Moskowitz" is John Cassavetes' warmest film, a quirky romantic comedy frequently raucous (Seymour has a quite a mouth) but also endearing, hopeful, lovable. The characters finding love aren't of Doris Day/Rock Hudson perfection but of damaged confidence, both completely lost in this game called life. It's a rom-com so real it's hard to even call it a rom-com, with the story unforced, the eventual marriage hasty enough to make even us have inhibitions. Minnie and Seymour are not conventionally likable (she's untrustworthy to the irritating max, he's so hot-tempered it's a wonder anyone talks to him), but because they're so much better together, their union is one of rare affection that suggests they really do love each other, though not in the way Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard taught us. Cassavetes dedicated "Minnie and Moskowitz" to the people who married for love, not comfort, and it's a worthy sanctification.
His other films are extraordinarily realistic, mostly telling stories of middle-aged people facing a cruel case of mid-life crisis blues. Here, it's the opposite: the middle-aged people face a cruel case of mid-life crisis blues before they find romance; and after they find their special someone, they are renewed. They become whole again after years of trying to find themselves. With its mostly improvised dialogue and no-holds-barred performances, "Minnie and Moskowitz" should be uncomfortable. But being the voyeur to a trial of love is an easy job, and Cassavetes lets his optimism shine through. Rowlands and Cassel are terrific.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
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