Wow! Such a good movie.

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A couple die in a car crash and leave 2 kids to fend for themselves - fast-forward many years and you have the reliable, still-at-home, mum of one Sammy (the ever-excellent Linney) and the emotionally-tipsy drifter brother Terry (Ruffalo).The film takes place over a short period during which Terry comes to town after a long time away, and Sammy goes through some rather hilarious & fraught personal entanglements.Pleasant, yet in danger of feeling very slight overall without being in tune with at least one of the main characters, a bit of a mood piece too. Very nicely written and paced, and a bit forgettable.

A single mother (Laura Linney)'s life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother (Mark Ruffalo) returns to town.This is a pretty simple story grounded by some solid acting. Mark Ruffalo never fails, and is one of the best actors working today. Sooner or later everyone will recognize him for the genius he is. Laura Linney, likewise, is incredible, and far bigger than she is generally given credit for. We also get Rory Culkin, and that is not a bad thing.Unfortunately, the casting of Matthew Broderick just kills this picture and drops it down a notch. Broderick works well in certain roles, but this is not one of them. He just comes off as too chipper, too nice and it does not line up well with the character he is portraying.

In the interest in disclosure I must state that I saw this movie for the first time ten years after it's release. Therefore, I had the benefit of both the 08' financial crisis and ten thousand more films just like this one having been made (although most appeared on "Lifetime")The plot is basically that of "working single mother against the world". Thats right, "Single mom makes good" with Laura Linny as the single mother . She has all the brains and cleverness in the movie, while the male characters are basically there to serve her. Her boss, played by Broderick, is tentative and afraid, and has stupid business ideas as well. Her brother, played with good acting skill by Mark Rufflo, is a sad drifter who works construction. Although he is the one who does the most respectable work as a carpenter, neither him or his trade are given much respect in the film. As the plot unfolds, Linny's character is shown to be very clever as she eventually gets everything that she wants. She gets freedom, power and even the family house.She sleeps with the boss, even though his wife is pregnant, then later extorts the ability to do basically whatever she wants at work or "I'M TELLING"! She gets her brother to sign his half of the house over to her, without any good explanation of why she deserves his half. Lastly, she dumps the man who wants to marry her , perhaps just to show how omnipotent and in control she is.The film never establishes why Linny's character deserves to get all the good fortune, unless by virtue of being a single mother she deserves it. They never go into why she made a bad choice as to who would father her kids, although perhaps her fling with Broderick was a clue. She is never shown doing much actual work either, come to think of it.After the 08 crises we learned that loan officers , a job without very high skill or educational training, treated themselves to some big cuts of some loans to people with little ability to pay them back. Perhaps Linny's job in the film is viewed a little differently today.Although the film had the feel of the dreaded dreaded "message flick", it's message was what? if you do difficult, dangerous work and don't cleverly extort privilege with sex, your a sucker? The public has grown weary of the antics of some mortgage brokers in the past decade; perhaps they will grow weary of this same tired , and by the way unrealistic plot in the next.

You can count on me is a film starring Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney and was made in 2000. This is one of those movies that is what they call a hidden gem. It is the story of a brother and sister who lose their parents in a car crash at a very young age. The story begins when they are older and the character played by Mark Ruffalo comes back home. One of the things that I loved about this movie is a key component, namely the tragic loss of their parents. You always get a sense that it is there and has shaped who these two characters have become as adults, but is never overplayed. Rory Culkin (yes Maculays brother) has a great first role as Laura's eight year old son. This movie is very well written and cerebral without trying to be over anyone's head. This is one of those movies that I think most people have never heard of, but if they would take the time to check out, I think they would find memorable. if you like concise reviews of interesting films please read my other reviews at http://raouldukeatthemovies.blogspot.com/