Please Give

Nicole Holofcener's slight but amiable ensemble dramedy centers on Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt), who run a vintage furniture shop stocked with items bought cheap from the heirs of the recently-deceased and then sold at a handsome profit. The couple have also purchased the adjacent apartment of their elderly neighbor (Ann Guilbert) with the understanding that after she dies, they will tear out a wall and expand theirs. This arrangement brings them—and their teen daughter Abby (Sarah Steele)—into contact with the neighbor's adult granddaughters: meek and mousy mammogram tech Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) and beautiful but abrasive masseuse Mary (Amanda Peet). Both Abby and Alex are drawn to Mary—Abby needs help with her acne, and Alex is suffering from a midlife crisis. From this set-up Holofcener constructs a complicated scenario, touching on topics ranging from the ideals of physical beauty to gentry guilt over taking advantage of the less fortunate. Please Give is ultimately about the accommodations that people reach among themselves in order to survive and prosper—both financially and emotionally—but it shies away from considering the potentially damaging ramifications. As a result, the movie comes across as more sitcom-like than genuine, although the wry, understated tone makes it a mostly enjoyable watch. Recommended, overall. (F. Swietek)