Manny & Lo
Niagara, Niagara, Niagara, Niagara, Niagara, Niagara! I wanted to love this movie so much – I think I might be the only person on earth who has a weird affection for director Lisa Krueger’s later movie Committed – but all I could think of after this movie hit 30 minutes was Niagara, Niagara. On the surface, the two movies are pretty different, but it really comes down to the classic old indie weirdo road movie. In Niagara, Niagara it’s a boy and a girl and the girl has Tourrette’s; in Manny & Lo it’s a couple of sisters and the oldest is pregnant. But they still manage to kidnap and befriend a stranger played by a character actor, among other hijinks.
Initial cynical negativity aside, I still got about as much out of this movie as I wanted. I love the old Scarlett Johansson – why did she have to get kidnapped by Woody Allen and Sofia Coppola and men’s magazines??? – and she’s even more captivating here than she was in The Horse Whisperer (another so-so movie only worth watching for her). But really, all I can say is, rent/buy/get Niagara, Niagara instead, unless you really have a thing for any of the acting talent involved here. Hopefully you won’t regret it.