Rating: 
Summary: You Can Count on Lonnergan
Review: I never would have guessed this was director Kenneth Longergan's first directorial job. The film was just so brilliant. But it was, and maybe that's why he tried so hard to get everything just right. Well, he succeeded. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffolo are wonderfully cast and extrememly believable as brother and sister. One who's a bit of a wanderer and the other who's a single mom. Another surprise was playing Rudy, Rory Culkin...who's quiet maturity really fit well with Linney's character, and a great opposition to his uncle played by Ruffolo. But the movie is really about the impacts that they all have on one another, and the ways in which they change each other's lives (for the better). I really enjoyed the film and the supporting roles by Matthew Broderick and Lonnergan's wife as Linney's co-worker (with the color coded computer screen). I love that Lonnergan resisted ending his movie with a cookie cutter/neat package ending and really admire that he stuck by his vision and didn't get talked into that formula by execs with no guts. Superb first effort! Also of note: Lonnergan also co-wrote Gangs of New York.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful tale about life and everything that is human.
Review: This such a beautiful tale about two brothers and their realtionship, sometimes troublesome, but ultimately always loving.
The characters are portrayed in such a realistic way and the acting is so good in this film. Laura Linney is fantastic, as is the actor who plays her brother.
It is a simple yet engaging story, but it feels so real and emotional that you are absorved by the characters conflicts, doubts, flaws, their humanity.
You might say "but nothing happens! There is no story!". Well, if you don't see it, you are missing a beautiful film not about redemption, not about getting things right, but about life and its beautiful winding road.
Rating: 
Summary: well-acted character-driven drama
Review: A good drama begins with realistic characters, and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME has several of them. Start with Laura Linney, a divorced mom with a few work problems, a good relationship with her son, and an adult younger brother who drives her crazy. That younger brother, Terry, is played by Mark Ruffalo. Totally unhinged and irresponsible, Terry visits his sister in order to collect money for his girlfriend's abortion. He then stays for a few days; after all, she's his sister, and she lives in his hometown too. But can his sister count on him? He's not dependable. Can she share a house with a man who lives like he's still a teenager? Can she even trust Terry to babysit her son? Ruffalo's performance is amazing. He pulls off the character seemingly with ease. Kudos to the director and producer for making this movie. Movies about adult brother-sister relationships are scarce these days. Matthew Broderick gets some credit for playing Linney's supervisor, a soon-to-be dad with a knack for rubbing his new employees the wrong way. His chemistry with Linney is obvious, and these two create scenes of office confrontation which are priceless. Then there is Kenneth Lonergan as the priest. Liberal, not pushy, and very caring, he tries to help people through. Lonergan, also the film's director, gives a good performance. The drama revolves around Linney's character, as she tries to deal with juggling motherhood, sisterhood, and her job, not to mention her social life. Just wait until you see the guy that she dates... See YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. With a great story and script, and fine performances, it's an excellent movie. I saw the DVD, then I watched the movie with director's comments. The comments were insightful, and they enhanced both my understanding and enjoyment of the movie. I'll be eagerly awaiting more movies from Kenneth Lonergan and Laura Linney. ken32
Rating: 
Summary: This was pointless
Review: You Can Count On Me... Ostensibly a tale of redemption this movie is basically a waste of the
audience's time. Laura Linney plays a successful single mother who
receives with great joy the news that her rapscallion of a brother, Mark
Ruffalo, is returning home for a visit. Laura's character has stayed and
prospered relatively well in the town they grew up in and Mark's
character seems to have hoboed around and spent more than one night in
jail. Somehow he connects with her son and apparently has an epiphany
and his character changes. OH THE HORROR! The plot was weak, the dialogue was a joke, the
characters were poorly drawn to begin with and had no moments of growth.
Oh wait, I know I said Mark's character had an epiphany but it made no
sense and was never explained. The movie seemed to start in the middle
of nowhere and ended with no resolution at all. Mathew Broderick had
what looked to be an interesting minor role for him and then just became
a waste of camera time. SKIP THIS ONE!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Richly filled of well-developed characters
Review: I love it. The movie is richly filled of well-developed characters. Those characters became reality beautifully with subtle but strong performances and with a smart selection of the movie setting in the small town, which itself represents where those characters are coming from. The performance of Laura Linney reminded me how I held my sister's hand when I was little. I totally relate to the strong/unique bond between sister and brother.
Rating:
Summary: Get this movie!
Review: The best movie I've seen in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Count on this Sleeper!
Review: Big films have big explosions and big action scenes. For those of you turned off by this type of "bigness", "You Can Count on Me" is your safe haven. The film revolves around Sammy Prescott (wonderfully played by Laura Linney), a divorced mom with a young son named Rudy (Rory Culkin). Sammy is a loan officer at a bank who has an established routine in her life. She dates the same man, picks up her son after school at the same time every day, and lives life as best as she can. Then her routine is disrupted by two events. The first event is a visit by her brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) who has a habit of being predictably unpredictable. Terry is the opposite of Sammy, he isn't grounded and lives for the moment, blissfully unaware of any consequences his actions may have. Despite his shortcomings, Sammy loves Terry dearly but a tension develops between the siblings because Sammy is not sure if Terry is a good influence for her son. The second event is the appearance of a new boss at work named Brian (Matthew Broderick). Brian proves to be the devoted company man who has no tolerance any deviations from the norm. Whether it's the color of the graphics on your personal computer screen or your habit of leaving work early - he's not having any of it. Yet, Sammy finds herself strangely attracted to this married man anyway even though she knows nothing good will come of a realtionship with him. Now this summary of the film won't pique the interest of any filmgoer conditioned to attend only Hollywood spectacles, but that's what gives the film its appeal. It is enjoyable precisely because it is not an empty overbloated Hollywood product. It is a small film that focuses on a small town where prospective mates for marriage are few and everyone knows what your kid was doing the night before. It is a film that follows small people who don't alter the course of human events by their decisions but make mistakes like you and me and learn from them. Writer-director Kenneth Lonergan weaves together an enchanting personal film filled with richly detailed characters. Linney in particular is radiant in her role and definitely deserved her Oscar nomination. This is a film that chronicles the simple struggle of living day to day and is satisfied with doing just that and nothing more.
Rating:
Summary: Growing Up Is Hard to Do.
Review: Corny title? Yes. Solid movie? You bet. "You Can Count On Me" is a modestly produced but potent drama about two adult siblings just trying to get on in the world. Sammy (played with understated grace by Laura Linney) is a single mom struggling to balance her thankless job at the bank, raising her 8-year old kid (Rory Culkin, Macaulay's brother), and trying to shake off an unfulfilling relationship. She has an unreasonably rigid boss (played by Matthew Broderick) who nitpicks at her every move in the office. Out of the blue, her wayward brother (the badly underrated Mark Ruffalo) comes to town with little more than the clothes on his back and chump change. He moves in with her, befriends her son (the way this friendship blooms in the movie is a delight to see), and causes all sorts of drama. Without revealing spoilers, "You Can Count On Me" is a perfect example of minimalism at its best. There are no special effects, showoffy performances that beg for an Oscar, and the viewer isn't bashed into the head with preachy messages. Unlike most movies, it respects your intelligence and is confident enough to remain subtle in tone. In a year of notoriously bad movies, "You Can Count On Me" was a bright spot that merits your attention and deserved its Academy Award nominations.
Rating:
Summary: Silly title for a great little film
Review: "You Can Count on Me" is badly served by its title, which makes it sound like something cobbled together to sell a pop song, on the order of "You Light Up My Life" or "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." In fact this is a charming and insightful film about small-town life and relationships, centering around a brother and sister who, orphaned when small children (the subject of the film's brief prologue), find themselves two adults with drastically different outlooks on life. How they clash, make up and learn from one another when the brother returns to their hometown after a long absence makes for one funny and/or moving scene after another. Laura Linney didn't have a chance of winning the Oscar against Julia Roberts' Erin Brockovich, but her luminous performance is certainly of that caliber, while Michael Ruffalo projects belligerence, vulnerability and tenderness with effortless mastery. Matthew Broderick and Kenneth Lonergan himself provide sharp, amusing portraits of Linney's annoying boss and broad-minded pastor, respectively. For film buffs who still believe that intelligent dialogue and emotional truth are essential parts of the film experience this is one not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Laura Linney gives a wonderful performance!
Review: This is really a nice little film. It is probably just the type of good film you'd see at an independent film festival, like Sundance. In other words, it is a good example of the sort of quality film American audiences usually ignore while they lament the lack of such films. It is a pity, but then again, true film buffs will always find a way to discover these film for their true value. Basically, this is a movie about a long-absent brother who returns to his sister's home, where she lives with her son, and the family drama that ensues thereafter. Nothing mind-blowing, no special effects, just good and honest acting at its finest. Laura Linney is just so incredibly good in this movie, I don't know why she didn't win the Best Actress Oscar (at least she was nominated). She really created a believable (wonderful yet flawed) character. Matthew Broderick adds a slice of sly humor as her weasly boss. The DVD itself is nicely done, no thrills or frills but competently done. If you like such films as "Ruby in Paradise" (Ashley Judd's first starring role and by far her best performance), "Ulee's Gold" (Peter Fonda's best performance in ages), "The Straight Story" (a G-rated David Lynch film, what will he think of next, but it is a masterpiece of FAMILY entertainment), "The Horse Whisperer" (Scarlett Johansson was so good in this film as the emotionally-scarred girl that the Academy Awards really dropped the ball when she wasn't nominated!), or "The Sweet Hereafter" (Atom Etoyan's masterpiece about loss), you will enjoy this film just fine! Give it a try! Or give any of the other films a try, too, as they are all (guaranteed!) far superior to whatever latest Hollywood special effects mishmash is bombarding the movie theaters today.
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