She's So Lovely

She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Nick Cassavetes
Written by	John Cassavetes
Produced by	René Cleitman
Starring	Sean Penn; Robin Wright Penn; Harry Dean Stanton; Debi Mazar; James Gandolfini; John Travolta;
Cinematography	Miramax Films
Release date	August 29, 1997;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million
Box office	$7,281,450

She's So Lovely is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first (and still only) posthumous film to feature previously unreleased material from John Cassavetes. The film stars Sean Penn and John Travolta as the respective male leads of whom bid for the affection of Maureen Murphy Quinn (Robin Wright). Harry Dean Stanton co-stars as a friend of Penn's character, and James Gandolfini plays the abusive neighbor.

Plot

Eddie Quinn's unruly wife Maureen drinks and smokes to excess, even though she is pregnant. Eddie has troubles of his own, disappearing for days at a time. When she is physically and sexually assaulted by Kiefer, a neighbor, it is more than Eddie can handle. He shoots someone and lands in a psychiatric hospital.

Ten years go by. Eddie finally returns, only to find Maureen is now a clean, sober, solid citizen, married to a new man, Joey, and a mother of three children, one of whom is Eddie's own daughter. Eddie's return complicates and endangers all of their lives.

Cast

Sean Penn as Eddie Quinn
Robin Wright as Maureen Murphy Quinn
John Travolta as Joey Giamonti
James Gandolfini as Kiefer
Harry Dean Stanton as Tony "Shorty" Russo
Neill Barry as Michael
Debi Mazar as Georgie
Gena Rowlands as Miss Jane Green
Susan Traylor as Lucinda
Bobby Cooper as Cooper
John Marshall Jones as Leonard
Chloe Webb as Nancy Swearingen
James Soravilla as Avi
Jamie Bozian as Intern #1 (as James Bozian)
Paul Johansson as Intern #2
Justina Machado as Carmen Rodriguez as Lady Ticket Taker
Tito Larriva as Lead Singer

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 66% based on 41 reviews.^[1]

Movie critic

Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston remarked, "Watching the films of John Cassavetes now, one is struck by how complex and human his characters are, compared with those in even the most sophisticated of today's independent films. This effect is even more pronounced in She's So Lovely, an unproduced Cassavetes script given the '90s treatment and filled with stars by the late director's son. The final product features some of the year's best performances...."^[3]