Hanging Up

Rating:
Summary: Why do movies like this get made?
Review: I rented this movie because I thought my wife would like it and we were both disappointed. I don't understand movies like this. You have incredible star power yet no signicant plot or conflict.

The obvious premise is that Meg Ryan leads a hectic life trying to care for her dad and keep her sisters informed all the while hating her sisters for not caring enough and feeling sorry for herself.

After about 20 minutes of Meg Ryan going nuts on the phone trying to talk to people, I wanted a line to form like it did in the movie "Airplane!" where people slap her around a little and tell her to get a hold of herself.

I guess the big conflict is will the two sisters of Meg care enough to come and see their father and will Meg ever calm down. I guess they do at the end but you will never care enough for the characters to care about the movie. It is a shame that Walter Matthau wasted one of his last roles in this pointless movie.

Rating:
Summary: Hanging Up
Review: This movie is like Mars Attacks: it has a great cast, but the movie is bad. One would think that a movie with Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, Meg Ryan, and Walter Matthau is a must see. However, I feel that since they all make such different movies (for example: Kudrow has made mostly screwball comedies, Ryan has made most cutsy romantic comedies, etc.) that when they get together in this movie, you can't really figure out if it's supposed to be a drama, or a comedy. For most of the movie, I felt sorry for Meg Ryan's character, who was having to take care of her dying father all by herself. However, when you see the flashbacks that occur so often in the movie, you almost wish the father would hurry up and die and that Meg Ryan would just put him in a nursing home run by Nurse Ratched or something. Ryan's sisters really have no purpose in the movie, until the end when all the sisters bond at the moment their sarcastic, corny father dies. Overall, this is a surprisingly terrible movie that never ends.

Rating:
Summary: Skip it.
Review: This is one of the those movies with so much talent that you would think that it can't miss. It did. The writers, unsure of what they wanted, a comedy or a drama, produced a movie which is neither. It's not funny. It is not dramatic. And, after watching it, I am not sure if it was even suppose to be either. Do youself a favor, skip it and rent or buy a different movie with these actors. They all have done good work, this is not it.

If you insist on seeing it, or you are still curious, tell me - what is funny about a comedy where half the story is set in a hospital? I guess there can by funny elements there, but besides Walter Matheau trying to grope young nurses, they didn't use any of them. Instead we have a story about an elderly man who is losing some of his memory, isolated from his family, who are isolated from each other by technology. It is a lonely film, and a sad one. Unfortunately since they were, I think, trying to make a comedy, I would have to say that "Hanging Up" failed on every level possible. Skip it.

Rating:
Summary: this call goes through!
Review: When I first finished watching Hanging Up, I really did like it. . From a personal family experience, there is usually that one person who gives their all and becomes this nervous worrier who tries to care for the sick person. And even though they may not enjoy it, they still are that special someone who forces themselves to visit their ill family member. And all this madness happenes between the whole family! lol I think many people can somewhat relate to this movie. I enjoyed this movie, but I didn't think it great. However, Diane Keaton, Meg Ryan, Lisa Kudrow deliver wonderful performances. And Walter Matthau gives a great last performance. It wouldn't be a waste of time to just sit down, relax and watch Hanging Up.

Rating:
Summary: the worst movie I ever saw
Review: Too bad there isn't a zero rating because that's what this movie deserves. I went to see it because of the good cast but I wanted to leave before it was half over and couldn't because I went with others. Meg Ryan spends most of the time screaming into the cell phone while Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow yell back at her. It might have a plot but it got lost in all the screaming. Even the slapstick-comedy food-fight stunk.

When I left the movie I wanted to go to the mall and smack every person I saw with a cell phone. If there is anyone out there who saw this movie and has anything good to say about it, I would love to hear it. My advice to Ryan, Kudrow and Keaton is find a new agent; another stinker like this and their careers are in the toilet.

Rating:
Summary: JUST HANG UP; THIS MOVIE IS A "WRONG NUMBER"!
Review: I was confused by this movie. I thought it was going to be a comedy, but instead, am still not sure WHAT it was! Sure, there were some funny parts, but they almost seem out of context with the rest of the movie. In the film, three sisters (Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, and Lisa Kudro) come to terms with their ailing father (played by Walter Mathauw). Meg Ryan is the one shouldering all the responsibility, as the other two sisters are completely "absorbed" in their own lives. Meg Ryan's character is constantly ON THE PHONE, answering the phone, tripping over something as she races for the phone, well, you get the idea. All in all, the movie was very stressful, insofaras the d.. phone never stopped ringing! I had to take two aspirin after watching, because all that phone ringing gave me a headache! I guess this movie was supposed to be a heartwarming account of how the three sisters finally "re-connect," but the movie lacks any real focus and kind of just stumbles along. In addition, the character development is weak; you don't end up really knowing or caring about anyone in the film. My opinion? Definitely RENT before BUYING! I can only say, I WISH I HAD!

Rating:
Summary: This is one of the worst movies of all time.
Review: What a boring waste of time. Fortunately, I was on an airplane and couldn't sleep but once I started to hope that the plane would get into difficulty rather than have to sit through this tripe, I knew it was a poor film. Meg Ryan is especially pathetic. She will not stop answering her cell phone and I just wanted to rip it from her hands and bash her on the head with it. How could 3 somewhat talented actresses get tied up with this garbage? There is a lame plot, the full mellow-dramatic try-to-make-you-cry but you can only laugh theme, and horrible sight gags. Why does Meg Ryan keep falling over things every time she answers the phone? It is really too bad for Walter Matthau that this film was his swan song. But then again, he was old and probably not of sound mind. What was everyone else doing? Pathetic! Boring! Terrible!

Rating:
Summary: hated it!
Review: We rented this thinking it would be a comedy. The trailers led us to believe that it would be. Furthermore, we found the characters of the sisters to be annoying. This movie was just plain depressing.

Rating:
Summary: Stay away from this film.
Review: Oh geez, another predictable, tear jerker that the world in general can do without. I'm a female and I hated Hanging up. It was terrible. The symbolism of telephones ringing incessantly was a little more than I could handle. The actors - Meg Ryan - not a favorite of mine; I haven't seen her in anything I liked since "You've got mail" (or whatever it was called) with Tom Hanks, and then, she was just reprising her role from "Sleepless in Seattle". Diane Keaton - great actress in a crappy role. It is too bad that women of such calibre only get the really stupid roles and women with absolutely no talent get the good stuff. Lisa Kudrow - able to play more than her friends character, is also a good actress with a crappy role. Exactly who wrote this film? The ending was so obvious that I think whoever wrote it should pay the audience to watch it. All the females were silly. Every last one of them. There was no dept of character what-so-ever - none. Walter Matthau was also wasted in that film. A classic actor with dozens of proper films under his belt. He could do that role in his sleep. I am inclined to say that perhaps he did. Those scenes with the photographs and the flashbacks with her mother - nothing new. Only children, who have not had years of movie going experience would find this film mildly interesting. I give it a D. But then, I am yet to watch a film of such calibre which matches up to "A Cat on A Hot Tin Roof". Nice try Meg. Next time try acting a little. This film belongs on home video, actually it suits the Lifetime channel, which shows much better movies than this one.

Rating:
Summary: Hanging Up DVD Review: I enjoyed it....
Review: Whenever I find out that Nora and Delia Ephron's name is connected to a movie and it stars either Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks or Billie Crystal...I'm definitely going to watch it!

I've always found their movies "When Harry Met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" to be magical but although this one starred Meg Ryan and was definitely not a romantic love comedy, I figured that...what the heck... I'm sure it's going to be good but is this movie more geared to women? Will I even care for it?

First, this movie is either...you love it or hate it. It is a story about three sisters and their cranky father who is getting old, tends to drink a lot and when the people you love start to lose their memory. Many people have people like this in their personal lives and can related with the three sisters. Trying to have your own life, raise a family, staying close with your family and watching over your parent. You see the character Eve (Meg Ryan) evolve.

Although I enjoyed the movie, it was short and I felt there were holes. For one, they included a deleted sequence in the movie which I felt should have not been cut. In fact, when you watch the HBO First Look on the making of "Hanging Up" which comes with the DVD, they show a lot of the sequence that was later cut in the movie. I did like the casting of the three women. Each are different in character but aren't all siblings. Meg Ryan was very good, Lisa Kudrow was almost like her "Friends" character and Diane Keaton still has it :)

As for the DVD, the audio is more dialogue but you can hear the girls speak clearly. The colors are very nice and I like the use of the red, white and black colors. The color coordination with the clothes of the women and so forth. The special features are good....but where's the commentary. You can tell the girls had so much fun...just watch the gag reel! But I wish there was a director's commentary included with the DVD.

All in all, the movie is very touching, not as powerful compared to the other Ephron related movies but nevertheless I enjoyed it.