Synopsis
A sexy, romantic comedy about modern couples coming together in funny and unexpected ways. Paul and Hannah discover that even after 40 years of marriage, they can still learn some very surprising things about each other. Meredith is a serious theatre director who isn't looking for a relationship... but has one looking for her in the person of the funny, persistent Trent. Then there's Joan and Keenan, young people searching for love in an L.A. club scene where the rules of dating seem to change every night.
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Cast
- Gillian AndersonMeredith
- Ellen BurstynMildred
- Sean ConneryPaul
- Anthony EdwardsRoger
- Angelina JolieJoan
- Jay MohrMark
- Ryan PhillippeKeenan
- Dennis QuaidHugh
- Gena RowlandsHannah
- Jon StewartTrent
Recommendations
- 75
CNN
It's much more enjoyable than this sort of date-movie thing normally is, and that success can mostly be credited to the big names populating the film. - 75
ReelViews
The movie is consistently well-acted and features a gallery of characters so affable that it's difficult to actively dislike any of them, or, for that matter, the film as a whole. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
It earns respect through good writing and some unexpectedly terrific performances. Viewers may walk away surprised, thinking that this film is more satisfying than it seemed at first. - 70
The New York Times
For all its artificiality, Playing by Heart percolates with an earnest charm. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Playing by Heart is, above all, an actor's movie: lots of monologues, lots of engaging conversation, lots of opportunities to shine without pouring it on too thickly. Everyone has his or her moment, although it is the older folks (Connery and Rowlands) and the youngsters (Jolie and Phillippe) who come off best, giving affecting performances in roles that serve as generational bookends in the film. - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
It's easy to like the movie because we like the actors in it, and because the movie makes it easy on us and has charming moments. But it feels too much like an exercise. It's yuppie lite--affluent, articulate people who, except for those who are ill, have problems that are almost pleasant. - 50
Time Out
The trouble is that all of these characters are more interesting when things are going badly for them than when the tide has turned, and Carroll's determination to make the final reel an extended bout of audience tummy tickling is disappointingly conventional. - 50
The A.V. Club
Playing By Heart covers a broad, multi-generational spectrum of romantic and familial relationships, but Carroll can't resist tying everything together in a shiny red bow. The result is daytime television at its most ambitious, an entire season's worth of flavorless melodrama and placating warmth.
