Sklanskyjr After having seen this movie about four times I have to say that this movie is a biting look into the life of 4 friends that may make you uncomfortable, or hit you right where it hurts. Quaid and MacDowell and Kinnear and Collette are two married couples who have been friends, shared lives, stories and the raising of their families for 12 years. Collette drops the bomb, alone, on Quaid and MacDowell, that Kinnear is leaving her. The movie unravels the friendships by exposing that neither Quaid or MacDowell like Kinnear and Collette very much,individually, after their secrets and lies are exposed. I think true friends overcome, and real friends fall by the wayside, as in this movie.Great acting, dialog, direction, etc..But a intense, deeply emotional film that may cause you to look at your friends and your spouse differently. And ask the question: Could it all fall apart?

dy158 I happen to be someone who does like to watch the credits roll in when a movie ends. I know it's one of those silliest things a person can do after watching a movie but then when I saw the final credit, it's a made-for-TV movie from HBO. I was pretty impressed.Gabe and Karen (Dennis Quaid and Andie MacDowell respectively) are food critics. They had been happily married for 12 years and have two sons as well. When one day their friend Beth (Toni Collette) was being invited over for dinner with her two sons in tow, Beth broke the news that she and her husband Tom are being separated because he was having an affair outside of the family. Given Tom is Gabe's friend and Beth is Karen's friend, married couple Gabe and Karen started to defend over what each of their best friend had did.The way Tom questioned his wife over whatever happened at Gabe and Karen's house when she was there with the kids was a little, kind of scary. But maybe given he is a lawyer, it's just like that.The movie even had scenes of flashback, showing the happier times between the four friends themselves. It was definitely really sweet to see those scenes.Sometimes, the lines are not always being drawn clearly when it come to the marriage of someone you know or maybe your own's when something starts to happen. The grey area is there. Now maybe I am not of marriageable age yet, but then standing up to whatever your friend had did is one thing I am clearly aware about.My final say? Like what I had mentioned on the title for this review.

bdheike I've lived few a number of long term relationships and the marriages of the two couples here rang true to me. Particularly the realization that when a marriage evolves into one dealing with day-to-day responsibilities of bringing up children and the daily business of our lives, the marriage seems to suffer.... but, the difference between the two couples is that one decides to stay together and cope with the realities of life, while the other couple looks elsewhere to recapture the adventurous feelings of new love with a new partner. The question becomes: Do you stay for the long haul and have the day-to-day routine become part of a richer tapestry, or do you leave to find fresher new stimulus each time the honeymoon phase is over?

katie-35 The MacDowell/Quaid marriage seems like it is already on the rocks from the beginning. Quaid seems to make an attempt but MacDowell never does give her husband any softness except during the final scene when she asks him to talk to her.Collet and Kinnear are doomed from the beginning.The film doesn't seem like the give and take of marriage but a good example of two people, especially MacDowell, who are judgemental. I hoped the plot would pick up and lead somewhere as suggested, but it failed. MacDowell has always been "cold" in her films. The other three would have a chance to give better performances with a better screenplay. Having Jewison attached made me want to see it more. I was disappointed.