Based solely on its trailers this movie is already getting a bad rap online, with many lambasting it as some &#39;chick&#39; flick revamp of &#39;French Kiss&#39;. Don&#39;t believe that hooey. This is a dark comedy worthy of Hitchcock, and it&#39;s far, far removed from Meg Ryan&#39;s past &#39;sweetheart&#39; roles.<br/><br/>&#39;Serious Moonlight&#39; is a simple, character-driven story of what happens when high-powered lawyer Louise (Meg Ryan) finds out her husband Ian (Timothy Hutton) plans to leave her for his younger mistress Sara (Kristen Bell). Louise holds Ian hostage, the better to make him explain what happened to their marriage. Eventually, an unexpected visit by Todd (Justin Long) forces husband, wife, and mistress to confront their situation in an unexpected manner.<br/><br/>As director Cheryl Hines suggested at the Austin Film Festival Q&amp;A before and after the movie, the film&#39;s plot really centers on Ian&#39;s character development. I have to agree, and I also think Hines was right when she said that Timothy Hutton was perfect for this role.<br/><br/>And while some might take Louise&#39;s decision to tie her husband up as pathetically desperate, I found it entirely believable that such drastic action would be necessary to make a man talk about his real feelings – especially when he&#39;s doing something as unoriginally asinine as finding &#39;real love&#39; with a younger woman. It&#39;s no accident that Sara looks conspicuously like young Louise, I think, and much of the movie&#39;s subtext is about the difference between early passion and long-term commitment.<br/><br/>This movie often feels like a play in the best sense, focusing on small moments and realistic conversation. Its short length stops it from feeling stage-y, however, and the actors all convey their lines with wonderful subtlety.<br/><br/>Hines also described the meticulous process of reading through the script with the actors to determine what was funny and what wasn&#39;t. I think this was nothing short of genius; so many non-traditional comedies lose the distinction so you&#39;re not sure what the intent of any given scene is. Perhaps because of her strong background in comedy, Hines wisely avoids this pitfall, making the movie&#39;s laughs razor-sharp, but balancing them with genuinely tense moments.<br/><br/>I won&#39;t tell you how the movie ends, because there&#39;s a bit of a twist. But I will be very curious to see what happens when it&#39;s released. I suspect that there will be some controversy about the how the film treats the battle of the sexes, and I fear some men might cower in the face of Louise&#39;s character -- Ian certainly does, at least at first. But that&#39;s almost the point, and I&#39;m glad to see a woman-authored, woman-directed view of male infidelity for once.<br/><br/>This darkly comic movie is definitely worth seeing, in my opinion, and given how seriously funnylady Hines takes her job as director, I sincerely hope to see more of her work soon.

Serious Moonlight is an incredibly execrable movie which should be used in film schools as an example of how NOT to make a movie. I can assure you I am not pleased to say this, because I generally like the work of Cheryl Hines as a comedian, and I would have liked to find some positive elements in her debut as a director. Besides, this movie was written by Adrienne Shelly (1966-2006), a young filmmaker who was tragically murdered 5 years ago, and it seems unfair to posthumously speak against a screenplay which may needed various (better said, a lot of) revisions. Having said all that, I need to go back to the point: Serious Moonlight is an unbearable and repulsive disaster.<br/><br/>I still remember the days in which Meg Ryan was considered the &quot;queen of the chick-flicks&quot;. Her presence used to be the the indicator that an insipid romantic story was waiting for us, but her natural geniality could make some films from her filmography to be worthy of an at least slight recommendation (such as When a Man Loves a Woman and Kate &amp; Leopold). What happened to her career? Sure, I perfectly understand that the time went by, and that she has now been replaced by younger actresses, such as Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. However, I think Ryan is a competent actress, so it would not be impossible to see her in adult romances. Or, better yet, she could accept substantial and mature dramatic characters (like for example, the one she interpreted in Courage Under Fire). So...how did she end up in such an atrocious and cheap movie like Serious Moonlight? <br/><br/>So, in conclusion, Serious Moonlight is a horrible movie which fails in every aspect, from its pathetic screenplay to its atrocious direction. I hope Hines will not direct a movie anymore, and that she will only keep working as an actress. As for Shelly...well, I will try to remember her only for the entertaining Waitress, which she had written and directed.

Serious Moonlight has its flaws, but then what marriage doesn't?