Review: See You In September DVD

See You In September DVD boxSTUDIO: Maya Entertainment | DIRECTOR: Tamara Tunie | CAST: Estella Warren, Justin Kirk, Liza Lapira, Whoopi Goldberg
RELEASE DATE: 2/8/2011 | PRICE: DVD $27.98
BONUSES: none
SPECS: Not rated | 90 min. | Romantic comedy | Dolby Digital audio

RATINGS (out of 5 dishes): Movie | Audio | Video | Overall

See You In September movie sceneAs romantic comedies go, See You In September is much less cute than, say, the movies of Katherine Heigl, whose Life As We Know It also came out this week. Instead, of a cupcake, See You In September is more like cheesecake, still sweet but with a sprinkle of serious.

Estella Warren (Driven) takes over the Heigl role, playing a woman who breaks up with her perfect boyfriend when he proposes then goes to a psychiatrist (Whoopi Goldberg, For Colored Girls) to find out why. When Warren finds out the doctor is taking off the month of August — along with every other shrink in Manhattan — Warren and her friend (Liza Lapira, Repo Men) decide to start their own lonely hearts support group. Enter Justin Kirk (TV’s Weeds), David Eigenberg (Sex and the City 2), Maulik Pancholy (TV’s 30 Rock), comedian Sandra Berhard and others, finding love in therapy.

The fact that every psychiatrist is taking all of August off might need a little separation of disbelief for audiences. Apparently, it was something docs used to do, but nowadays it seems unrealistic.

But if you can buy that, the group therapy sessions — which start out with them being tied up and robbed in the first meeting — are funny, filled with members who all have their quirks.

The movie is the directorial debut of Tamara Tunie, the character actress who you’ll recognize from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, As the World Turns, 24 and others. She does a good job of keeping the action moving along, but some scenes get bogged down with the talky script, which had four writers.

The actors are uniformally fine, handling the subject matter with the appropriate level of sweet.

The quick, 90-minute independent film is not Oscar material, but it’s an enjoyable enough way to spend a couple of hours.

One warning, though, if you’re expecting to lots of laughs from Goldberg, think again. Despite her picture on the DVD’s box, she’s only in the one scene in which she gives Warren the bad news.

The DVD has no special features, but this movie didn’t appear in theaters, so it’s new.

 

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About S. Clark

Sam Clark is the former Managing Editor/Online Editor of Video Business magazine. With 19 years experience in journalism, 12 in the home entertainment industry, Sam has been hooked on movies on since she saw E.T. then stared into the sky waiting to meet her own friendly alien. Thanks to her husband’s shared love of movies, Sam reviews Blu-ray discs in a true home theater, with a 118-inch screen, projector and cushy recliners with cup holders.