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Something to Talk About (1995) More at IMDbPro »

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16 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Bad title, good movie, 15 April 2004

Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States

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.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Well-played drama about being in love, making mistakes..., 18 January 2003

Author: dwpollar from Bothell, Washington

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.

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Disappointing...., 23 January 2005

Author: Jenfranbax from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

First let me start off by saying that Julia Roberts is from Georgia...Her accent is real! This was a disappointing movie. Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick have great chemistry as sisters and they LOOK like they could actually be related. Dennis Quaid-check, Robert Duvall-check, Gena Rowlands-check...Cast is awesome. Writing is sassy and on the money. The problem is the way the story turns on it's head. When Grace poisons her husband it is not at all funny..and takes the story in another direction. We think we are watching a movie about this lying cheating lout who does his woman wrong and her questioning her life and her choices afterward. We feel bad for HIM when he makes it sound like she drove him into another woman's arms because she didn't give him enough affection. She actually feels bad, but it is already too late, as she has already made him sick from the poison. He decides he doesn't want her back after all and goes ahead and gets a nasty lawyer.

Along the way her mom (Rowland)decides to take action on her husband (duvall) who has been fooling around for years. Not making much sense here. All this surrounds a equestrian competition that is supposed to bring these people together. Kind of stupid. I also want to bring attention to the fact that Julia Roberts was about 27 when she made this. Too young to have this older kid, and Dennis Quaid looks a good 10 years her senior, and they were in college together?? Kyra Sedgwick is going for over the top sassy here...We get the point after she knees Quaid in the jewels early on..yes yes she is a tough cookie. All that said, I will watch Julia Roberts in anything. I am her target demographic after all. Her most unwatchable movie is still watchable to me on a snowy Sunday afternoon such as today.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A story about husbands, wives, parents, children and other natural disasters., 10 April 2003
Author: Old Joe from Hamilton, Australia

This is a very clever movie, made with serious intentions, coming out with both a funny and serious side to it. I am talk about the Julia Roberts drama, ‘Something to talk about'. I have seen many movies that look into the issues concerning relationships and infidelity, such as 2002's, ‘unfaithful'. Yet this film looks at a different side of the problems that can hurt a relationship and also shows that one couples problems can be the ‘talk' of the town.

Grace Bichon has a picture perfect life. She helps manage her father's riding-stable and has a great husband and little daughter. That is until she discovers that her husband Eddie is deceiving her with another woman. After confronting him in the middle of the night on the streets of their small home town, she decides to stay at her sister Emma Rae's house for a while, to make up her mind. Breaking out of her everyday life, she starts to question the authority of everyone, especially her father's, thus causing a stir in her parent's marriage, too.

What a great story this film has. I love the way that the audience get the chance to experience what a place it is that poor Grace has to live. It also shows that being part of a relationship is not an easy thing. Another clever addition to the story is the use of gossip, which is perfectly incorporated and performed by the movie's actors. You really believe that this town's people want to know what is going on in the lives of the ‘Bichon family' and that is ultimately why it was called ‘Something to talk about'. This all being said, the film has many characters that I did not like, which is credit to the film's story, allowing me to actually like it. The screenwriter for ‘Something to talk about', is Callie Khouri, who did a film last year, that I want to see, called ‘Devine secrets of the Ya-Ya sisterhood'. Callie wrote a most enjoyable script from where I see it.

There are flawless roles from all involved in the movie. This movie's main star is a gal I like, that being Julia Roberts. I remember reading that someone said Robert's needed to do this movie, to save her career from going down the wrong path. Well she shone in this most likeable of roles. I love the way that her character goes through so many emotions, especially the hot-headed temperament, but for good reason. I had to laugh when Grace is so abrupt, asking all her friends at a meeting, has anyone and everyone in the town been sleeping with her husband. The next line is priceless.

The men in Grace's life are not so great. Husband Eddie (Dennis Quaid) is in a most uncomfortable of situations, which he put himself in. Eddie is upstaged by Grace's sister, Emma Rae (Kyra Sedgwick), who brings Eddie to his knees. Then add in the scene when Grace tries to get revenge on her husband. It is a movie that shows Eddie has done many things wrong. What Grace does might seem a little extreme, but I have no doubt that hurt people will go to such lengths to feel better about themselves and their situation. Grace's father, Wyly King (Robert Duvall) is a man who cares not so much for his family, but more about the disgrace one of his daughter's will bring to the family name, reputation and business. I was shocked when he blurts out ‘All of our friends complain about how their kids grow up and run off and they never hear from them anymore. Why the hell can't that happen to us?'

Director Lasse Hallstrom did a good job with this movie. He certainly seemed fascinated in making a movie which shows how dysfunctional a family really can be, and on more than one level in this film. There was also one name that came up as a bit of a surprise to me in the casting credits, that being Goldie Hawn. She was executive producer of the film, and in some way, you can feel the comedic touch she brought to the film.

‘Something to talk about' hit home personally for me, as I have been part of a family break up, via one parent being unfaithful to the other. It is very hard for kids to understand what is going on when parent's relationships are disintegrating right in front of them. I have resigned to the fact my parents will never be back together again, but this film shows that not all relationships are a lost cause as I am sure they are not. Julia Robert's role in the film was so compelling from where I see it, as she was well within her rights to be as upset as she was. Her role justifies to me, why she is a star in Hollywood today. I guess the only downer for me in this film was the language, which I found just a little slack and disturbing. Roger Ebert said in his review of the film: ‘that ‘Something to talk about' is the kind of film where you start out wondering how all these people are related, and end up knowing all to well'. I could not agree more, but I guess that is what you get when people start to gossip and talk!

CMRS gives ‘Something to talk about': 4 (Very Good Film)

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Delightful film, 17 April 2004

Author: evraymer from Canada

This is a delightful film about a Southern belle, Grace King Bichon

(Julia Roberts), who chafes under the domination of her

brook-no-dissent father, and is cheated on by her husband. Grace

works for her father on his horse farm, and her suppressed

resentment of his iron rule has likely helped derail her marriage to

Eddie. In any event, the film is ultimately about the love and

strength of family relationships and the power of forgiveness, as

well as finding one's own path in life. All actors turn in great

performances: Julia Roberts as the heroine and wronged wife;

Robert Duvall as the family patriarch; Gena Rowlands as the

beautiful and devoted spouse and mother; and Kyra Sedgwick as

the transgressive sister. Dennis Quaid as Grace's philandering

husband is very appealing, so it's hard not to be rooting for he and

Grace to reconcile. Finally, good cinematography and a portrait of

gracious Southern living make this film an enjoyable view.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Underwhelming comedy-drama with A-list talent..., 3 December 2005

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Sterling cast featuring not only Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid, but also Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands and Kyra Sedgwick, is 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 ****

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Mediocre movie from Lasse Hallström, not on the level we use to watch from him, 10 July 2008

Author: johnny-08 from Rijeka, Croatia

When it comes to directors like Lasse Hallström, I always expect maximum, best, masterpiece. After movies that he made back in Finland and brilliant "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" I think that my expectations were justified. Sadly, this movie came just behind Gilbert so I can live with one mediocre movie after a huge success with Gilbert and then later movie like "The Cider House Rules", "Chocolat"...

Hallström likes to make family movies, where he can expose the whole family with all their pluses and minuses. In this case, story was written by Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise), typical 'women are always good' writer. In the middle of the story we've got Grace Bichon (Julia Roberts), who founds out that her husband Eddie (Dennis Quaid) is unfaithful. With her daughter, she decides to come back home at ranch. There she must face her traditional father Wyly (Robert Duvall) and mother Georgia (Gena Rowlands), who seems to be doing whatever Wyly wants. The only person who fully understands her is her sister Emma Rae (Kyra Sedgwick).

I disagree that there is nothing to talk about in this movie. Yes, this movie has some obvious problems: the script is not brilliant which is mostly seen in situations that we've all seen before and characters like Eddie, Wyly and Georgia are written on a way that there is nothing for actors to act. But all Hallström characters are alive (you can identify with them) and about family problems that are presented in this movie there is plenty to talk about. For example, what strong woman like Grace does when she's cheated, how to explain her young daughter that her dad isn't living with them any more; the whole relationship of Bichon's after infidelity. On the other hand, we've got relationship between two sisters, between Wyly and Georgia King and so on. So we've got plenty stuff to talk about only if you think about it for a while. What this script lacks is quality writing of male characters. Duvall's and Quaid's characters are simply not developed enough.

About acting part, I must admit that Julia Roberts is very good in this role, just like Kyra Sedgwick and Brett Cullen (his character is the only male character that is made right). Duvall, Rowlands & Quaid have nothing to act, like I said before. But I read one comment that says that Duvall shouldn't act in any movie. That is what made me angry so I had to write it. Man is a screen and stage legend!

So to end, if you can watch this family drama about marriage, infidelity and love. It's not the best choice coming from Hallström but it's a bearable one.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
One of Julia's Best, 8 April 2005

Author: gregorybnyc from New York City, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a great "woman's" picture that is also very entertaining for anybody. Someone mentioned that Julia Roberts offers up a convincing southern accent. Well hell's bells, she's from Smyrna, Georgia. How convincing does she have to be!

Set in Kentucky horse country, Julia Roberts plays a young wife and mother who runs her father's (Robert Duvall) horse business. She's a fine wife and mother, and a good business woman. One day while driving in town, she sees her husband (Dennis Quaid) kissing a pretty woman in a red dress outside his office building. Busted, Quaid finds himself kneed in he groin by his potty- mouthed sister-in-law (the adorably gusty Kyra Sedgewick) and thrown out of the house by his furious wife.

Her husband infidelity turns her contained and comfy world upside-down. Daddy (who has his own issues with infidelities) is uncomfortable with his daughter's anger and insensitively insists that she overlook the problem and get on with her life. Mama (the great Gena Rowlands) who has been looking the other way for years, and is not in a position to offer any advice, tells her daughters that southern woman have been putting up with their philandering husbands for years. Sedgewick can only offer her own withering scorn to her parents (she lives in a house on her father's farm with no visible means of support and therefore is beholden to her parents), while she clucks sympathetically with her sister.

Meanwhile, Robert's character has to move on. Her daughter, an excellent young rider, is nudging her to compete in horse competitions, which is is reluctant to allow. She's confused about her parent's separation. Julia is running the business, but her father constantly interfere, making her management decisions. The women in her local Junior League are condescending and smug in the knowledge that their marriages are safe as hers is not. Roberts has a brilliant comic moment telling her sisters that their husbands are cheating on them too!

A contrite Quaid is on a mission to reconcile with his wife, but she is resisting. Taking the advice of her beloved Aunt, she mildly poisons her husband's dinner in an attempt to "teach him a lesson he won't soon forget." You know it's only a matter of time before she forgives him, but you enjoy her insistence that this is a serious breach of trust in their marriage, not to be ignored lightly, or forgotten.

The film reaches a very satisfactory conclusion. Daddy is finally made to pay the consequences for his own extra-marital dalliances when Rowlands finally locks him out of their house. And he finally learns to respect his daughter and realize the psychic damage his flagrant misogyny has caused.

This is a quiet gem of a movie and one of Julia's best. The cast is expert and Hallstrom's direction is fluid and detailed. Khalie Couri's screenplay is alert and adult. An earlier review chastises the Robert's character for "poisoning" her husband. She didn't kill him, nor did she intend to. But I think it's quite appropriate for her to make him feel some of the pain he's caused her. At the very least, he should have been discreet. Acting out his affair in public is just asking for trouble.

And the women in this family make their men grow up. A throughly enjoyable movie.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Another story of infidelity, 20 June 2003
Author: DPerson626 (DPerson626@aol.com) from Conyers, Georgia

This time it is the man who is unfaithful but the ending is different. When we watched "A Walk on The Moon", "Unfaithful" and "The Bridges of Madison County" we saw three married women have torrid affairs but who were portrayed as sympathetic characters. They ended up staying with their husbands (though the husband in "Unfaithful" probably ended up in prison) while still in love with the men with whom they committed adultery. The husbands who were aware of their wives unfaithfulness, and the one who didn't, all opted to "stand by their women" and were portrayed as being at fault by virtue of working too hard and not paying enough attention to the wives.

But here the shoe is on the other foot. The husband is the one who strays and he is portrayed as being at fault, even though his wife has become distant and unresponsive to him. The double standard is obvious. Kyra Sedgwick was by far the most enjoyable character in the film. She was outstanding as the protective sister of betrayed Julia Roberts. The b*ll kicking scene is painful, but funny. I really liked her and will be looking for more of her work in the future.

The setting is a horse farm that is ruled over by the patriarch played by Robert Duvall. Grace is his assistant manager and carries much of the load. Her husband (Dennis Quaid) is caught cheating on her and she moves out of their bedroom to her sisters apartment. Though her husband is truly repentant and struggles to get her back she is unrelenting and eventually returns to school and we are left wondering if there is ever a reunion. I enjoyed the movie but was struck by the difference in the treatment of male infidelity versus that of the female. I give it a 7/10.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Moral: men are bums, 23 February 2003
Author: Bob F. from Ky.

In many ways this was a good film, well acted, with an interesting script. But, also it was far to mean spirited for my taste. Basically it turned into a feminist tract in which women were noble while men were immoral, and rather stupid. Is if really funny when Julia Roberts poisons her cheating husband?, played by Dennis Quaid, while her sister knees him in the b*lls? It was far to black and white -- women = good, men = louses.

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