Qualcosa di cui... sparlare

A Southern woman (Julia Roberts) finds out her husband (Dennis Quaid) is cheating on her. This sets off complications that involve her whole family-her fiery sister (Kyra Sedgwick), gruff father (Robert Duvall) and understanding mother (Gena Rowlands).

This plot has been done many times before and there are no real surprises--but it has a good pro-female script. That's no surprise--it was written by Callie Khouri who also wrote "Thelma & Louise". The dialogue is sharp and adult and the stars give it their all.

I've never really been a big fan of Roberts but she is very good here faking a credible Southern accent. She has a GREAT scene when she confronts her club about her husband's infidelity. Sedgwick is just fantastic as her sister--full of fire and having a great time. Surprisingly Rowlands wasn't that good at first--way too muted but she eventually got better and is wonderful in a scene in which she tells off Duvall. Quaid and Duvall are lousy in their roles...but they're given NOTHING to work with--this picture is about the women. The only male character with any depth is Jamie (Brett Cullen)--very handsome, intelligent and caring--a real great performance.

A word of advice--this movie is VERY R rated. There's tons of swearing (especially from Sedgwick) and VERY frank sexual dialogue--it is NOT for the kids (unless it's an edited for TV version). It's an adult movie.

Predictable but well-done. Worth catching.

Anything featuring gutter mouthed Julia Roberts I normally bypass but this film also had Gena Rowlands and Dennis Quaid so it was worth a look. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Kyra Sedgwick who stole the show. I hope she has the same sense of humor in real life and if she does, Kevin Bacon is lucky indeed.

I understand that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. But if this film is any indication of the way women think today, God help mankind.

Something To Talk About poses a moral dilemma; A good woman is cheated on by her husband, what are her options? I believe a good litmus test of fairness is that it should work in reverse. If that were done in this case, (i.e.) if the man was the faithful one and the woman the cheat, would this script work? Undoubtedly, if they were to make such a film, there would be an outcry from women so loud it would make a Queer Nation rally at a NASCAR race sound like an ant sneeze.

Juxtapose the events as mentioned and imagine, if you will, a film coddled by conservatives, where all women were whores and the virtuous male lead is cheated on. His wife, no matter how repentant, contrite and persistent, is hung out to dry continuously for the filthy tramp that she is while he flirts with his new female options. Then, just to underscore how biased society is today, all the men in the theater jump up at the conclusion of the film and clap for joy because the male lead is so brave.

Does writer Callie Khouri, (Thelma & Louis, go figure) think it's comforting to leave no hope of ever mending past mistakes? I suppose to some people that is the makings for a great film, but in the real world all people make mistakes and forgiveness is a virtue. As George Bailey would say: "It comes in awfully handy down here, Bub."

This films twisted message is this: the answer to a woman being scorned is to fight back, but on a frightening, Star Wars Dark Lord kind of level. In that regard this movie should definitely be seen by anyone considering dating Callie Khouri.

Sterling cast, featuring not only Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid but also Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands and Kyra Sedgwick, in a handsomely-made but rather ordinary, women's TV-type light drama (with barbed language added). Roberts plays harried working mom down South who discovers husband Quaid has been unfaithful; they fight, discuss divorce, fight some more, while Roberts gets advice from her well-to-do parents (they ponder the situation when the answers should be obvious). Pleasant cast nearly masks the fact this is completely rote material (with Sedgwick as Roberts' p.o.'ed sister who gets in the proverbial crotch kick). Pokey, overly-familiar, overlong film with too few laughs and too much inane banter. Photographed by the famous Sven Nykvist, who indeed gives the picture a rich, glossy look. ** from ****

1st watched 1/18/2003 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Lasse Hallstrom): Well-played drama about being in love, making mistakes, and trying to stay in love. This is a heart-breaking movie to watch because it is so much like real life and it is played out so well by those involved. The Direction by Hallstrom is magnificent because of the way he lets the story do the talking and doesn't hurry us to conclusions. Basically, this is a story about a woman(Julia Roberts) who finds out that her husband(Dennis Quaid) is cheating on her and then everything gets mixed up from this point on. There are many other relationships that are also very vital to the story just like they would be in real life. There are parents(who struggle with some of the same things), there is a sister(who tries to lend a helping hand) and there is a child in the middle of everything just trying to survive. By the end, we believe that everything is going to be all right but it is very obvious that much damage has been done. Roberts is superb as usual and everyone plays out their parts very believably. This is one of those movies that is one of a kind, but not one you'd want to watch very often for it hits deep within our souls(especially those who have gone thru similar experiences) and therefore I think it failed when released because the exec's didn't know how to sell it to make money but none-the-less it is a classic in my book on relationships. The choice of the title also didn't make sense because the song really has nothing to do with the movie. Again, I think this was a marketing mistake and not the filmmakers.