About this episode

Jeff Hiller joins the hosts to discuss Nicole Holofcener's film 'Lovely and Amazing' and its themes of insecurity within a family of women.

Emmy winner Jeff Hiller joins us this week to talk about one of our beloved Nicole Holofcener’s earliest films. Lovely and Amazing follows a Los Angeles family of women burdened by insecurities, from the mother (Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn) opting in to liposuction to her two adult daughters who help her with a preteen adopted sister. Debuting at festivals in 2001, the film released the next summer to strong reviews for Holofcener muse Catherine Keener and earned an Indie Spirit win for Emily Mortimer. This episode, we talk about Holofcener’s style of funny and bracing brutal honesty and this film’s depiction of actor insecurities. We also discuss Mortimer’s showcase scene mentioned in many reviews, Raven Goodwin’s terrific child performance, and some of the forgotten titles from that year’s Independent Spirit awards. Topics also include Apple Trailers, news bloopers, and tackling Isabelle Huppert.

People in this episode

Hosts: Joe, Chris

Guest: Jeff Hiller

Topics covered

• film analysis
• actor insecurities
• Nicole Holofcener
• Emmy winner
• Independent Spirit awards
• family dynamics
• comedy

Keywords

• Lovely and Amazing
• Nicole Holofcener
• Jeff Hiller
• actor insecurities
• Independent Spirit awards
• Brenda Blethyn
• Catherine Keener
• Emily Mortimer
• Raven Goodwin

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Lovely and Amazing

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