I found the trailer made me want to rewatch Close Encounters of the Third Kind as soon as I can find my VHS tape …
Spielberg versus what's his name?
Wahlberg versus Dreyfuss?
Kate Hudson versus Teri Garr?
No contest … pass.

a mentioned elsewhere — secret ingredient of "To Die For" — Buck Henry…. with Buck, anything is possible.

I'm pretty sure that was the movie in which the review said that everyone — including the reviewer, had assumed that Law was more than a box of tricks and that movie convinced him he was wrong. That Law WAS a box of well done actorly tricks which he had up to that point employed "gotten away with" — His "star turn"…

Far too much power in the wrong hands … makes a mockery of what used to be our crowning glory of a justice system. The drill is to overcharge like crazy, to make the plea deal irresistible, and if the plea cannot be negotiated and accepted, to increase the final jury trial sentence upward for not "playing ball" ……

I'm guessing openly smoking tobacco might be more shocking than marijuana …

The very naïve, very horny, very disappointed boys in that story got sent to prison… and it was written by Buck Henry (!!!!) … I'm not sure that "America" could stand such an "amoral" story these days (20 years later — can you believe it?) Darkly funny … I don't know. I'm not sure American Beauty or Magnolia would…

who would you have cast? I'm really curious. Fantasy football would have had Colleen Dewhurst in the lead with a trio of equally powerful stage actresses backing her up … but … among the living … who?

yes, she is and has always been …Judy Davis … and always has been … but Holly Hunter of, say The Piano, had many "colors" … as Judy Davis can play incredibly vulnerable, (Passage to India) often as a very strong woman's vulnerability … They're both superb actors.

Oh yeah, a few parents who own car dealerships and the like and your band uniforms and travel expenses are covered. I gather in some places budget cuts have exacerbated inequality because well-to-do parents happily and generously pony up the $$$ cut and more …

Smaller does work better for vulnerability … it's like the difference between Holly Hunter or Judy Davis and many of their peers … Mary-Louise Parker and Sarah Jessica Parker … the former — only briefly as young women — "read" as vulnerable, the latter pair are rarely seen as anything else regardless of age.
Roberts…

It could be hilarious to see Roberts mirror Pitt's impeccable ability to play really really brick-dumb, as in clueless … but I'm guessing they're not making that movie ….
Besides which it is hard to imagine anyone better than Francis McDormand in that role — regardless of how they tackle the story … she does…

yes, the three sisters grew up as only children on different continents … from different mothers, none of them Streep … Nicholson was the only person I believed lived in that house … but I never believed the 3 shared a bathtub or a birthday party there.
Martindale was great and "filled the space." I thought…

and could they succeed where Mike Nichols stumbled (twice) ….
No, I'm not a Robert's fan and blame her for August:Osage County (and Closer) .packing so very little emotional punch .. She's got as much "chemistry" as the promotional cardboard cut-out in the lobby …

I was thinking she was a little old to play the mother of an elementary school child (48) … she's not "really" .. but Harper Valley PTA smears work better when the target is young enough to be suspected of wild and lewd behavior… by 40, even most drug using parents keep their stashes (sex toy and contraceptives) well…

as I recall, in the book — but not in the movies — Elizabeth is very aware that most (possibly all) of Darcy's criticisms of her family are valid, and in fact she is painfully aware of same … it's unkind, even rude for him to mention these things, but she can't argue that her mother isn't careless and foolish…

The "premise" is Hallmark ridiculous … the performances however are really wonderful and it's heart-felt without being mushy and Bill Pullman is heavenly sexy in the nicest possible way. … It's a lovely quiet funny movie … see also Home for the Holidays …

The New York Times actually has a recipe for your basic Top Ramen with 1 poached egg and two singles slices of American cheese on top … blech … I trick mine out with minced garlic, ginger, hot sesame oil and two eggs and an onion of some kind … and that's just for breakfast.

While You Were Sleeping is a lovely movie and a perfect not-too-holiday film "for the whole family" (as I recall) — great performances and many laughs

and you remind me of Working Girl — Sigourney Weaver, bitch boss from hell.

Funny, yes, likely intentional, I think all of the actors were Americans also …. Hanks and Sinise