Movies in the Drama/Comedy genre

The first thing to notice about John Duigan's Lawn Dogs is the astounding performance of newcomer Mischa Barton, who plays Devon, the 10-year old protagonist. Barton is a natural actress, and manages to convey the perfect blend of maturity and inn...

Let it Rain, a French film that has taken two years to reach North American theaters (a testimony to how poor the market is these days even for well-made, high-profile foreign fare), makes the case that simplicity in a motion picture can be a good ...

Liberal Arts is a parfait - a light, enjoyable concoction that goes down easily but doesn't linger. The movie is great "in the moment" but may be difficult to recall with any specificity after time has elapsed. The film has a friendly, sophisticat...

In 1998, Todd Solondz's Happiness became one of the most talked-about and controversial indie films of the year - a black comedy that ventured into David Lynch territory to expose the rot underlying the placid exterior of suburbia. At the time, Hap...

Despite its share of missteps (the most egregious of which unfortunately occurs late in the proceedings), Limbo is just weird and wonderful enough to earn a recommendation. What starts out as an exercise in absurdist and surreal comedy turns i...

Little White Lies replicates the experience of going on a two week summer vacation with a group of self-absorbed Parisians. At times, it's amusing. At times, it's tragic. At times, it's romantic. But, like many vacations, it's way, way too long. Al...

There's a lot about Lola Versus that feels familiar, but the propulsion that escalates the film out of the low orbit of angst-riddled 20-something indie "comedies" is Greta Gerwig. The young actress, who began her career in Mumblecore before shifti...

Edward Zwick is probably best known for his work on television. Along with Marshall Herkovitz, he was a driving force behind two long-running TV series (thirtySomething and Once and Again). He was also an important contributor to many others (inc...

Love, Simon is, at it’s core, a crowd-pleaser about an “average” high school guy who finds love in the most unlikely of places. Part romantic-comedy, part coming-of-age story, it recalls the more innocent “high school” films of the p...

Ah, the dinner party – that wonderful stand-by for so many European films. Over the course of my fifty-plus years on this planet, I have been to my fair share of these (usually tedious) soirees, and none have been anything like the ones pres...