Rating: 
Summary: This was a great movie
Review: When I watched this movie, I was expecting some good highlights after all, two great actresses were starring (Anderson, Jolie) so I was really looking forward to it. But when I saw it, I was blasted away by such great preformance, it's great because in the end, when everything ties together, you're like "Ahhhh.." So I'd have to say, it was brilliant, and that extra music video in the end was a nice touch too. The song's pretty catchy!
Rating:
Summary: Jon Stewart is not naked enough
Review: This is a great movie, except for one thing: Jon Stewart is not naked enough. And his major bed scenes are with a dog.
Rating: 
Summary: Not an alien abduction in sight...
Review: This is a cute little piece of loosely-tied vignettes that give several of today's hot actors the chance to actually ACT (not one car chase, alien abduction or plot to destroy the world in evidence). We receive insight into the lives and phobias of three sisters (Anderson, Jolie, Stowe) for the few days leading up to their parents' (Connery, Rowlands) anniversary marriage vow renewal. Ryan Phillippe, Dennis Quaid and Jon Stewart really steal the show as the love interests. Phillippe and Jolie are believable and sweet as a twenty-something couple with some pretty large issues making the L.A. club scene while Anderson and Stewart are good as thirty-something professionals trying to get through the scar tissue created by past romantic disasters. Quaid, however gives the best performance when he sets out to prove to himself that he's not the boring, unimaginative husband Stowe thinks him to be. Jay Mohr and Ellen Burstyn also shine in a wonderfully poignant subplot involving a mother-son relationship. It was especially nice to see Mohr in a softer role - I recall all of his previous characters as selfish, crude S.O.B.s. This movie reminds me of the days before special effects where the story was the star.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, so contrived... Yawn!
Review: In the last five years or so i've watched a rather abundant number of films like this one. Yuppie, well-to-do beautiful people who can't find love and are very messed-up, or cynical, or desperate but charming. Sometimes this formula works (see 200 Cigarettes), sometimes it flops (see Playing by Heart). The best thing a movie can have is good writing, and that was absent from this one. The dialogs were contrived, clichéd and stale. The predictability was huge, and the happy ending was tear-inducing. Sean Connery plays Sean Connery, Dennis Quaid plays Dennis Quaid, Jay Mohr can't act, and Angelina Jolie's break-up phone conversation was unbearable. The best thing in the movie is the drag queen. Please pass on this one and go straight to 200 Cigarettes (where Jay Mohr actually does a half-decent job).
Rating:
Summary: Great film, decent DVD, a must see!
Review: Playing by Heart is one of those films that for whatever reason goes unnoticed, but deserves to be right up their at the Academy Awards in March. The performances in this film should be dissected and used as mandatory course material in any acting program. The cast speaks for itself. You look at the actors involved and you know it is going to be a good movie. What you don't know however, is that nearly every actor in this film is at the top of his or her game. The scenes with Ryan Phillippe and Angelina Jolie are magnificent. Ellen Burstyn, who is always near flawless, gives another memorable performance and manages to pull Jay Mohr up several notches. Sean Connery gives one his more inspired performances in years. It is one of those films that you just have to see for yourself. I can guarantee I will see it several more times.My big complaint with this particular title is that is a rather pricy disc with not much on it. Now, I know, you buy the DVD for the movie, not the extra features. However this is a film that has so much potential with the DVD format. I would have liked to see a seamless branching feature that would allow me to watch the different vignettes all at once rather. I am sure there is some amazing delete footage somewhere. And a commentary track by the Director and Stars could have been a nice touch. Instead all we get is a Theatrical Trailer. I suppose I shouldn't complain because it is a decent widescreen transfer with a very subtle but apparent Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but if anyone is listening...make that two disc special edition...you got at least one buyer right here!
Rating:
Summary: WOWZERS!
Review: We were just perusing, looking for something good...then we started reading the cast list for "Playing By Heart." Jilian Anderson, John Stewart, Sean Connery, Ryan Phillipe, Angelina Jollie, Madeline Stowe, and Dennis Quaid, just to name a few of our favorites! Then we watched it and things just got better. Its subtle and colorful, and you're never waiting for next scene except in anticipation!!
Rating:
Summary: Talent-Wit-Talent-WIT..amazing.
Review: Before I saw the movie, I thought the reviews here were pretty exaggerated, or were just a really big fan of, hmm lets say Gillian Anderson *which I am, by the way* BUT this exceeds all my expectations. EVERYONE was amazing, even if the story lines were a bit subtle than your typical mall movie. But the writing was pleasantly witty and intelligent, and John Stewart CAN ACT, guys! He's great. Really wish we'd see more of the characters they created!
Rating:
Summary: The best romantic comedy I have ever seen. Its a must see
Review: The best movie I have seen in awhile. Gillian Anderson was outstanding. I hope they make a sequal and use the same people and actors/actresses.
Rating:
Summary: one of my new obsesions
Review: I started out only renting Playing By Heart because Gillian Anderson was in it and I'm a fan of hers. I expected the movie to be alright plot-wise and for Gillian to shine (which she did as usual) but I came away with so much more. Not only is Gillian fabulous in this movie but so are a variety of other actors such as Jon Stewart ,whom I had no idea could act, and Angelina Jolie. The characters were very easy to relate to and the plot was so simple to understand. Everything is so straight-forward much like real life. You know you are in love with a movie when you watch it 7 times in 4 days which I sadly did with this movie but I never got tired of it. I strongly recommend this movie who is a sap for romance or if you are just in the mood to see a great movie!
Rating:
Summary: Great film
Review: This film tracks several couples at various stages of a relationship (2 beginnings, one married, and one long-married) and their figuring out their own emotional entaglements. All the performances are wonderful, particularly Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands as the long-married couple dealing with a painful, recently discovered secret. Their story was my favorite, because there was a simple honesty in how they talked that revealed more about what marriage is than movies like "Forget Paris" and "The Story of Us". Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillipe rock as two people desparately attracted to eachother, but battling their own insecurities to find one another. I also have to mention Jonathan Stewart and Gillian Anderson. Jonathan Stewart is wonderful in this role, as the guy trying to break Gillian Anderson out of her shell, and Gillian Anderson demonstrates in her role as a controlled, shy woman that there's more to her than just the X-File's Scully. Good movie. I think I'll have to buy it.
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