User reviews

The eternal triangle and the romantic comedy have been soulmates forever but how many ways you can tell the same old love story? The era of female empowerment and emotional recycling is upon us, so it is refreshing to see Maggie's Plan (2016) take an old story formula and update it with offbeat humour centred on modern marriage. Contemporary lifestyle choices such as wanting a baby but not a man or handing a used lover back to a former owner are just some of the scenarios played out in this intelligent and delightful rom-rom.

The simple triangular plot pivots on independent-minded Maggie (Greta Gerwig), an over-controller who loves falling in love but cannot keep a relationship longer than six months. Wanting a baby without the strings, she arranges for a sperm donor just as she meets John (Ethan Hawke), an insecure academic who is emasculated by the stellar career of his imperious wife Georgette (Julianne Moore). John's need for constant mothering is no longer fulfilled by the dynamic Georgette, so Maggie and John inevitably pair up and one corner of the triangle disappears. Three years later, Maggie is over the needy John and his permanently incomplete 'great novel' so she hatches a plan to reunite John with Georgette. A clever script laced with tangled textual barbs like "ficto-critical anthropology" (Google it) and one-liners like "nobody unpacks commodity fetishism like you do" are rapid-fire and hilarious send-ups of the pretentious world of academe. It is at this level that the film shines brightest: not with belly laughs or madcap comedy, but through a whimsical lens focused on the world of intelligent people who think they control the ebbs and flows of the uncontrollable.

The acting performances are all top-shelf. Julianne Moore plays the understated dominatrix with a hilarious deadpan Danish accent, and Ethan Hawke is perfect as the hapless male out-powered by the females in his life. The standout performance is Greta Gerwig whose big doe-eyed innocence and naivety about the ways of the world make her scheming utterly forgivable. While the story has a predictable narrative arc, the dialogue is richly satirical, funny and totally female-centered. It is also an entertaining post-feminist comedy about sex and marriage which imagines a future where males are only needed for sperm and are then recycled amongst whoever will tolerate their innate weaknesses.

New Yorker Maggie Hardin (Greta Gerwig) wants to have a baby. Her relationships never last more than six months except her college romance with best friend Tony (Bill Hader) but that doesn't count. She decides to get sperm from college acquaintance, pickle entrepreneur Guy Childers. She works at an art school with Tony's wife Felicia (Maya Rudolph) and John Harding (Ethan Hawke). Maggie and John meet over a paycheck mixup and start a relationship over a novel he's trying to write. He's unhappily married to Columbia professor Georgette (Julianne Moore) with two kids.

The appeal of this movie depends a lot on one's appreciation of Gerwig's flighty, quirky persona. It's a rom-com where the romance is not the most likable. Harding starts off poorly and I never find him a good match for Maggie. Even the pickle guy is better although Tony could be the best if there is no Felicia. I'm actually glad at the turn in the second half of the movie and it becomes an anti-rom-com. The funniest relationship is between Maggie and Georgette. The movie could do with more of them together.

Woody Allen by way of Noah Baumbach is as close as I can come to give you an idea of how amusing, smart, and awkward Rebecca Miller's Maggie's Plan is. But, then, the adjectives as well describe indie-fav Greta Gerwig playing Maggie, whose plan to send her husband back to his ex wife reveals the layers that make Maggie one of the most complex romantic heroines in film.

Having fallen in love with hot "ficto-critical anthropologist" John (Ethan Hawke) at The New School, where she works as a career counselor for grad students, Maggie in her quietly innocent but manipulative way has a child with him after his divorce and their marriage. One of the comedic elements is her previous plan to have an artificial insemination from hippy pickle entrepreneur Guy (Travis Fimmel). She has no need to produce the baby in a normal way, an eccentricity never explained but for me felt to be another facet of her quirky and honest personality.

Although you can see the goofy and formulaic elements, underneath is Maggie's genuine wish to have a normal love, a situation not really meant for her given her wacky judgment and clueless orientation. Throughout the wryly wacky plot are numerous elements of truth in modern culture: having a child purposely without father involved; career taking precedence over family (Julienne Moore as high-powered ex-wife academic); step kids as complicating elements; and so on.

Writer/director Miller is deft at playing the elements off each other to make it feel as if all of this confusion is just part of a larger plan. Maggie, as a self-confessed meddler, goes through a labor-intensive series of challenges that go beyond the clichés of the romantic comedy formula. Although the accumulation of challenges may seem too many, each one resonates with a human predicament common to us all.

It's romantic comedy with brains and heart. So human.

Greetings again from the darkness. A significant portion of Woody Allen's film career has been projects that seem designed to appeal to (sometimes only) the New York intellectual sub-culture. You know the type … those who thrive on talking (incessantly) about all the things they know, often without really accomplishing anything themselves. They are the kind of people we usually laugh at, rather than with. Filmmaker Rebecca Miller appears ready to accept the passing of the Woody Allen baton, and at a minimum, her latest is heavily influenced by his comedic-brain food.

Ms. Miller casts perfectly for her first film in six plus years (The Secret Life of Pippa Lee, 2009). Greta Gerwig plays Maggie, whose ever-evolving "plan" is both the title and focus of the film. Ethan Hawke plays John, the middle-aged crisis guy who wants desperately to be showered with attention. Julianne Moore plays Georgette, John's slightly odd and brilliant wife, and mother to their two kids. Other key players include Travis Fimmel as Guy, a pickle entrepreneur and the center piece to Maggie's master plan; Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph as friends and confidants of Maggie; and Wallace Shawn, always a treat on screen.

The story starts out pretty simple, and then gets complicated, and then kind of loses focus before ending just right. Perpetually whining Maggie has admittedly given up on ever finding the kind of true love that results in a happy family. Because of this, she has recruited former schoolmate and math whiz and pickle dude Guy to supply the missing link for her artificial insemination. This leads to one of film's rare cheap laughs and one that not even the quirky Gerwig can pull off. A payroll mishap brings Maggie and aspiring novelist John (a 'ficto-critical anthropologist' by trade) together, and her willingness to read his writing and offer some support, is all it takes to finish off John's slowly disintegrating marriage to Georgette (Ms. Moore dusting off the Euro accent she used in The Big Lebowski).

Writer/director Miller is the daughter of famed playwright Arthur Miller, who wrote Death of a Salesman and was once married to Marilyn Monroe (after Joe DiMaggio). She also directed The Ballad of Jack and Rose, which starred her husband, Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis. Much of her latest film feels contrived and over-written … as if every scene carries the burden of generating a laugh out loud moment. It shouldn't be too surprising that the ultra talented Julianne Moore creates the most interesting character, though unfortunately, she has the least amount of screen time among the three leads. It's good for a few laughs, as well as some cringing … and an ending that actually works.

Kind of a refreshing romance-drama on the cheating/divorce theme. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller. A great comeback after the six years of gap, but not a masterstroke. The casting was very impressive, particularly it was Greta Gerwig's typical film. I mean, if you enjoy watching her films, then you would do the same for it. On the other hand, her signature performance kind of bored to me. I mean all her film character was kind of easy-go-lucky soft-touch and comedic girl, I want her to try the different roles and genres. Maybe that's the reason many people had turned it down. Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore were in the decent supporting roles, but everybody shared enough screen to call its their film too and delivered some good lines.

I had a good time with it, because it was better than I anticipated. The story was good and its entire narration they have developed it finely. Unfortunately, it is an R film, otherwise it could have been a film for all. Kind of it reminds us the Woody Allen's style of presentation. Because you know even in the tough times for film characters, they calm and coolly deals it. So that makes it is a stress free film, especially if you just had a bad day, it might help you cool down. But don't expect the loud laughs in the comedy parts, then you should not opt it.

The overall film is worth a watch, but don't believe those who are saying it is too bad. It might be bad for them, though definitely not bad to bash it top to bottom. The critics thumbed it up, and if you welcome decent films, then go for it and decide yourself. The film has lots of good qualities, but this could be the last film of Greta I'll be watching if she does not appear in a distinct role in her next, because like I said I already bored of her in the same old. Finally, I feel I want to suggest it, but not to everybody, particularly not the youngster, the grown ups might like it better.

7/10

I think I got tricked into watching this movie by looking at the cast. There are undeniably good actors and actresses in this movie but that doesn't mean a certainty for success. On the contrary, it turned out to be a borefest. I couldn't wait for the end credits to appear. As for the comedy level I had two or three small grins, so nothing that will stay memorable for the rest of my life, like some other good comedies sometimes do. If you like endless debating about something dramatic like couples arguing about nothing then you might enjoy this. I can't believe I wasted my time with this one as it was clearly going to be really boring after only five minutes.

Without Ms. Moore, the movie would still have been good, but not a 7. Every scene she's in glistens, and all you can do is watch her. Credit must also go to the writer/director, Rebecca Miller (Arthur Miller's daughter) for a tight screenplay and terrific direction re Ms. Moore's performance, but the life the actor breathes into the role is awesome.

Moore plays an academic, and although early on you think she is a stereotype, that does not develop: she turns out to be the most human of them all.

Now for Greta Gerwig: she plays, essentially, the same character she played in "Greenberg" and the disappointing "Francis Ha." That is, the somewhat neurotic, ineffectual woman confused about relationships. She should def broaden her repertoire before she ends up committing career suicide; perhaps change agents. Oh--she is a talented actress to be sure--but she's got to get out more.

Ethan Hawke is good and believable, but is not asked for much here. This is a movie written and directed by a woman and about two women; the men are written well, but the character development focuses on the Gerwig and Moore characters.

The movie kept my interest throughout and moved along. But do not expect a comedy that will have you laughing out loud, because all you will get are a few chuckles. Also, this is a very New York City- centric work, so if that is not your cup 'o tea, do not bother. But no matter: although I have never seen Ms. Miller's previous works, I will certainly look forward to her next. Congratulations to you, Rebecca Miller, on a thoughtful and enjoyable movie. And nice casting with Julianne Moore.

Greta Gerwig as "Maggie" (an independent woman) bakes up a plan to become a single mother and in the process 'the plan' works but then backfires and puts her into a situation 'the plan' did not include - marriage.

Gerwig gives a charming performance as Maggie steering a course through a relationship with a overly analytical writer once divorced husband, raising her three year old child, working her job as an instructor in a local college, and realizing her husband is still in love with his first wife! Maggie is in a pickle so she devises another plan!

The setting is the New York City intellectual society living in row houses and meeting in cafe's to socialize. The cast includes Bill Hader, Ethan Hawke, Maya Rudolph, Julianne Moore, Wallace Shawn. This is a simple 'slice of life' type story about modern people looking for and finding happiness and direction in their life. It's probably a film more appreciated by a viewer that likes a romantic flavor in a story that looks into the feelings and emotion in the human spirit.

This is a cheerful light story that includes just a touch of sorrow mixed into a picture of mostly happy people getting on with life. And don't forget the pickles!

Tons of history and your mom tell you falling for a married man is a chancy way to find happiness and a father for your baby. In this romantic comedy by writer-director Rebecca Miller, the unlikely happens and aspiring novelist John Harding (played by Ethan Hawke) actually divorces his self-absorbed, chilly wife Georgette (Julianne Moore) and marries the girl. They have a lovely baby. A couple of years on, though, the marriage is just not working. That's when Maggie (Greta Gerwig) develops her plan. She'll try to get John and Georgette back together. There are some nice moments and some funny moments, though the comedy is never quite as screwball as it might have been. As a tale of female manipulation, Maggie's efforts don't reach the delicious complexity of Lady Susan Vernon in Love & Friendship, also in theaters now. Lady Susan plows ahead like an ocean liner, let the devil take the hindmost, and that creates a more comic effect than the rather more realistic angsty New Yorkers in Maggie's web. Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph are a prickly married couple, long-time friends of Maggie, stuck to each other like burrs. Mina Sundwall is John And Georgette's teenage daughter, a perfect adolescent cynic. Gerwig gives an engaging performance, Hawke is always interesting, and Julianne Moore shines as the ambitious academic—with a Danish accent, no less. There's a real New York feel to the film, too. Says Christy Lemire in RogerEbert.com, director Miller "truly gets the city's rhythms and idiosyncracies, and her dialogue frequently sparkles."

A narcissistic man-child falls for a frumpy, Midwestern stereotype, leaves his German shrew-wife, then vacillates back and forth pointlessly.

Bonus: a foreigner selling artisanal pickles to Whole Foods for distribution, and a child attending "Eurythmics" class. I honestly can't tell if this is all an elaborate trolling effort.

The only humor in this "comedy" are a few bitter lines from the comedians.

I would write more, but honestly, there's nothing more to say. It's an almost empty film. My interest in the actors was the only thing compelling me to watch.

Here New York singleton Maggie is played by Greta Gerwig, an actress who can be funny and serious, pretty and plain, switching from one to the other in seconds. Her original plan is to have a baby through a sperm donor, although later in the movie she conceives (sorry for the pun) another plan involving her husband, self-absorbed academic John (Ethan Hawke in a classic verbose role), and his ex-wife, the Danish ambitious academic Georgette (the ever-able Juliette Moore). The moral of the story is that our plans often don't work out as we expect and, even when they do, it might not actually be because of us.

I think this is an under-rated movie with interesting characters and real charm. There are no action sequences or dramatic conflicts, but it is quietly engaging and insightful. Rebecaa Miller wrote and directed it from the novel by Karen Rinaldi and the most intriguing relationship is between Maggie and Georgette, so some will be tempted to dismiss it as a woman's film, but I recommend it to anyone who wants something a bit more lifelike and thoughtful compared to the more traditional rom-com.

"I thought I was rescuing him from her." Maggie (Gerwig) is a strong single woman who wants a baby, without the complications of having a man in her life. When she meets John (Hawke) her plans change. He leaves his wife and the two start a life together. 3 years later Maggie begins to rethink her decision and wonders if she can undue her mistake. This is a movie that tried so hard to be be good. It was a different kind of love story that attempted to show the fallout from a whirlwind affair. The problem, to me, was that it was just so slow moving and a little repetitive that it made it hard to stay interested in. There is also one big thing that both helped and hurt the movie; Ethan Hawke. He helped it because he is a very good actor and really plays this part perfect. He hurt the movie because it make me think back to the Before Sunrise series and when compared to those movies this one just isn't near as good. There are some very good aspects to this and it is worth seeing, but really I was a little disappointed. Overall, a movie that could have been really good but it was just missing something to keep it from being a little dull and repetitive. I give this a C+.

The actors are really good in this. And you really feel for them, even when they go through stuff, where you might go "so what?"! But it can still feel like a drag for some, which is why the viewers are split on this one. I did enjoy personally to a degree, but it's still not as good as some other indie movies are.

What may be surprising to some, is the casual nudity that is being displayed. On the other hand I heard Americans are not as frigid anymore as they used to be ... generally speaking, not when it comes to the rating board of course. But this is more than just a shell, it's about how to grow up, when to grow up and what to make of ones life ... Which boils down to decisions ...

Maggie (Great Gerwig) is planning on having a baby of her own, but her plans are derailed when she meets John (Ethan Hawke), the two fall in love and he divorces his wife Georgette (Julian Moore), yet things don't seem to go as well as John and Maggie had planned and when Georgette and Maggie meet, a whole new plan starts coming to life in Maggie's head. Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, "Maggie's Plan" also stars SNL cast members Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph.

The description above might not reflect the movie in all of its delight and fun, but it might be indicative of the sweat messiness of the characters we get to spend a hundred minutes with and whom, by the end of the film, I wouldn't have minded spending a little time more.

Going into this film I just really wanted a quirky, classic comedy with good heart and drama and that was exactly what I was handed. "Maggie's Plan" can't be commended for particular originality in storytelling or cinematic language, it also has a very derivative style from the New York indies of the recent years, but nothing of the above takes away from the fresh take we get to experience on characters who all have depth and interesting struggles to overcome that and with who we spend a very pleasant time alternating between moments of joy and fun, which are the ones that work best, and moments or dramatic dynamics that fit perfectly in the tone by remaining lighthearted but keeping a weight to what is going on.

The direction the film has is very straight forward, I really enjoyed the off beat comedy sprinkled around the film, it was a very nice touch and fit in the very non invasive staging. We just get to see the five performers go at it, on a well written and thought out screenplay which is just the proof of the fact that when you have a good story and passion for it there will always be something to stick behind to for an audience.

The cast is really the beating heart of the movie and the reason for its success. Greta Gerwig as always lights up the screen with her infectious energy and quirky charisma, she might be playing the character she has already done many times, but it doesn't really matter when the results are so pleasant. Juliane Moore sells her character perfectly and doesn't come off as a unlikable presence she could have been, you get her arch and stand with her as much as you do with the other characters. Ethan Hawke is as flawless as always, I think I've never seen him give a bad performance and even if this isn't exactly his best work it is another one where you just loose the actor and only see the character. The supporting cast is just as good as the main one and they are the reason for many of the big laughs in the film. Bill Hader doesn't even have to move to be funny, Rudolph plays off him pitch perfect and she even manages to overcome his titanic presence at moments. And then there is a revelation: Travis Fimmel, I think this guys has something special and I'm really rooting for him. After really liking him in Warcraft, here he does something totally different and crafts a cameo character that steals every scene he is in. He is hilarious and manages to get laughs by just moving around, it's really inspired work.

"Maggie's Plan" is such a welcome entry in this year's movie list and whilst nobody I think will come out having had their lives changed, it is not its purpose to do so and with the heart in the right place it tells and absorbing story having loads of fun in the way.

'Maggie's Plan' is a fairly simple romantic-comedy - quite light and breezy, with a few laughs and nothing too dramatic to bog it down. Maggie (Gerwig) works at a New York university and her "plan" is to have a child by herself, since she's ready to be a mother (she's only meant to be 29, mind) and "borrows" some sperm off an old friend. The "plan" goes astray when she meets John (Hawke), a professor/anthropologist who's trying to write a novel, and falls in love with him.

This is obviously further complicated by the fact John's married to Georgette (Moore), another professor - but she's Danish - and Maggie unwittingly becomes a homewrecker. She technically ends up with three kids - hers and John's, plus her two step-kids John & Georgette already had. Tony (Hader) and Felicia (Rudolph) play her long-married friends and have most of the laugh-out-loud moments. After a few years, Maggie's sick of John and her new "plan" is to get him back together with Georgette, which Tony accidentally gives away.

The film's not as madcap as it may sound, and Gerwig plays Maggie as innocent and charming. It's real fun watching Hawke & Moore out of their comfort zone - Hawke as the bumbling/ignorant guy who has no idea what's going on in his life and Moore as a straight-and-narrow foreigner, but her accent is hilarious and her character a little deeper than it first appears. The film probably needed a bit more of Hader & Rudolph, but it's all quite sweet and nice, including the ending.

Among many other things, the best dialogue-driven character studies can create a sense of real connectedness between the viewer and the people depicted on screen. If well narrated, those films can serve as a mirror to your own experiences or open up new perspectives on life in general. Directors that have managed to achieve this in the past like (the early) Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach are also often named as references when it comes to Rebecca Miller's latest film Maggie's Plan.

Indeed, when you saw the trailer, you got the feeling a new Baumbach is coming up: set in New York, starring Greta Gerwig playing a Gerta Gerwig-character and a plot revolving around existential questions of a group of well-educated, slightly quirky people. I love all of these elements and mixed with a cast including Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore I was very excited to see this film.

However, the aspects of indie films I mentioned above which I deem so important are all missing here. Once you have accepted the awkward premise (which is far-fetched enough) that the protagonist Maggie (Greta Gerwig) desperately wants to reunite her husband John (Ethan Hawke) with his ex-wife (Julianne Moore), the film misses all its chances to handle the characters' issues with precision and depth. This starts with the poor writing which does include some amusing lines and interesting insights (my favourite being John's take on unborn babies) but still fails to make the characters' motivations and intentions appear reasonable. Despite the fact that they are always quite short, films like The Squid and the Whale never feel rushed. In Maggie's Plan we see many rapid developments and turns in attitude that are often hard to make sense of.

Apart from problems in the script, the film suffers from the way it is directed. One major element is a trope that is more than predominant in recent cinema which comes down to a formula many directors seem to have internalised deeply: Shaky camera = Authenticity. In order to immerse the viewer within a scene, many films employ this technique, however in many cases in such a exaggerated manner that it becomes a parody of itself (Exhibit A: The Hunger Games; Counterexample (how it should be done): Children of Men). The same is the case in Maggie's Plan. It is the film's ambition to live up to its predecessors by offering a perspective that feels true to life. But unnecessary zoom-ins, shakes and pans occasionally disrupt the viewing experience. Films that rely on quiet, emotional scenes like this one benefit from a rather still, observant depiction, so that the viewer likely forgets that there is a camera.

Having said all this, I still consider Maggie's Plan an average film which is mostly due to the cast. The actors do what they can to give the weird script at least some emotional depth (even though I add Julianne Moore's choice of accent to the list of things that bewildered me). My harsh critique is probably due to high expectations. But I just didn't assume they were that high, as I would have been happy, if some main elements that separate these kinds of films from major blockbusters had been displayed.

My main concern with this review is to counter the many voices comparing this film to indie masterpieces like Frances Ha or Annie Hall. Maggie's Plan is not even close to being in the same league. To quote Pulp Fiction, it is not even the same sport.

Subtle, nice, funny, lovely, smart, wise & warm, this is a brilliant tale of relationships in our time. A young woman, Maggie, looks at her failures in coupling and decides to have a child alone, before hooking up with a married man, John. After a great barrage of conception gags, the film settles into a deeper exploration of blended family dynamics and good-girl behaviour.

Maggie, Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha, Mistress America), falls in love with John, Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant and difficult Georgette, Julianne Moore (Almost Heaven, The Kids are Alright, Still Alice).

Greta Gerwig plays a slightly deeper and more rounded young New Yorker than her 2 brilliant previous efforts & Ethan Hawke again creates a deeply flawed yet sympathetic father as he did in Boyhood. Julianne Moore entertainingly pushes the boundaries of her comfort zone as a fierce Danish academic in a supporting role. The trio's 3 children are also terrific.

Set in NYC, you have to be reminded of Woody Allen and he'd be proud if he'd made this one; a brilliant piece of cinema in every way. Maggie's Plan is an original, timeless but contemporary story full of domestic tension, rich characters, interesting locations and beguiling images. The writer/director is Rebecca Miller, daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, Streetcar Named Desire).

I loved it for its intelligence and I laughed a lot right up until the satisfying ending. At 99 minutes it's taut, neat and spot-on with modern love issues. One of the year's best so far, 4 & ½ stars.

"Maggie's Plan" (2015 release; 98 min.) brings the story of Maggie. As the movie opens, we see her walking the streets of New York, meeting with one of her friends and talking about wanting to become a mother. She talks an erstwhile college friend into donating sperm, Then one day she meets John at The New School, where Maggie is a business development director and John a part-time faculty in the Anthropology department. They hit it off, but there is a problem (John is married), or is there? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from writer-director Rebecca Miller ("The Private Lives of Pippa Lee"). Here, Miller decides to take a lighthearted look (with some serious undertones) at the relationship issues of a young New York woman in her late twenties or maybe early thirties. And who better to cast than Greta Gerwig, who seemingly plays this role in a lot of her films (Lola Versus, Frances Ha, Mistress America). I bet she can do this role in her sleep. But that doesn't mean she doesn't give her usual all. John is played nicely by Ethan Hawke. But for me the big surprise of this movie turns out to be Juliette Moore, here playing John's wife Georgette, a woman originally from Denmark. So yes, Moore does the Danish accent, and their two kids eve speak Danish at times. I think Moore is hilarious as the 'scorned wife'. Bill Hader and Maya Rudolph play the married couple that is friends of Maggie. The movie clips by in a crisp pace, and before I knew it, the theater lights came back on. By the way, if you see the trailer popping up anywhere, run away as fast as you can. It reveals way, way too much of the movie's plot.

"Maggie's Plan" opened at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, to great acclaim. The movie finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at what attended okay. I am sure this movie will generate positive word-of-mouth. I know that I enjoyed it, even though there is no new terrain being broken, but the cast is delightful and the tone mostly light. If you have a chance to see this, be it at the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, do not miss it!