Prime (2005)

Director:

Ben Younger

Writer (WGA):

Ben Younger (written by)

Release Date:

28 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A therapeutic new comedy.

Plot:

A career driven professional from Manhattan is wooed by a young painter, who also happens to be the son of her psychoanalyst.

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Love | Therapist | Jew | New York City

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	Rafi Gardet
Meryl Streep	...	Lisa Metzger
Bryan Greenberg	...	David Bloomberg
Jon Abrahams	...	Morris
Adriana Biasi	...	Bay Ridge Blonde
David Younger	...	Brother #1
Palmer Brown	...	Brother #2
Zak Orth	...	Randall
Annie Parisse	...	Katherine
Aubrey Dollar	...	Michelle
Jerry Adler	...	Sam
Doris Belack	...	Blanche
Ato Essandoh	...	Damien
David Anzuelo	...	Bodega Counterman
Naomi Aborn	...	Dinah Bloomberg

Also Known As:

Couchgeflüster (Austria) (Germany) (DVD title) (Switzerland: German title) [de]
Couchgeflüster - Die erste therapeutische Liebeskomödie (Germany) [de]
Ego, aftos kai i mitera tou (Greece) [el]
Entre elles et lui (Canada: French title) [fr]
Kærester (Denmark) [da]
Mi novia secreta (Venezuela) [es]
Nära & kära (Sweden) [sv]
Oikeanlaista kemiaa (Finland) [fi]
Petites confidences (à ma psy) (France) [fr]
Prime (Italy) [it]
Secretos compartidos (Spain) [es]
Secretos de diván (Argentina) [es]
Terapia do Amor (Brazil) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content including dialogue, and for language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:12A | Taiwan:R-12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Ireland:15A | Germany:o.Al. | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:AL | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | Hong Kong:IIA | Malaysia:U | France:U | Finland:K-7 | Sweden:Btl | Brazil:12 | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Hungary:16 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-13 | USA:PG-13 (re-rating on appeal) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Prime Film Productions LLC

Trivia:

Rafi is 37 years old; Dave is 23. This may be a joke on the movie's title, as 37 and 23 are both prime numbers (i.e., numbers that are divisible only by themselves and by 1).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When David and Morris are going to throw the pie, the shot of the Verazzano Bridge is a different location than the background scenery when they are talking to each other. The bridge shot is from 3rd avenue on 100th street, while the background shots (when they're talking to each other and are shot from the front) are from elsewhere.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lisa Metzger: Oh, I'm sorry. It's so hot in here, and I can't figure this stupid thing!

Movie Connections:

References Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Soundtrack:

FAKE FRENCH

A Nutshell Review: Prime

Perhaps this was touted as a romantic comedy with a psycho-analytical character thrown in, kind of like Analyse This and Analyse That. Put the characters in a crazy premise, and see how their relationship work out. Meryl Streep stars as Lisa, a psychologist to Uma Thurman's Rafi, who, unknowingly to both, is dating her son David.

Rafi's just been freshly divorced, and has only Lisa to talk to about her problems, and new life found when she met a new man in her life. She lies about David's age (increased it from 23 to 27), and wonders if a younger man would be suitable for her. You know it's situational comedy time when Lisa finds out about the truth, and discovers that she's caught between maternally protecting her son from a non-Jewish girl and frowning upon their relationship, and the conflict of interest between herself as a professional, and her client.

While the trailers seemed to suggest that most of the film will dwell on this aspect, and provide many laughable moments, this film is actually more serious that it looks in examining two major issues - that of religion, and the age gap between lovers.

David is an aspiring artist who's bumming around in life, until he met Rafi and moves in with her. While initially a novelty - Rafi enjoys and exhilarates about the sex and his manhood to Lisa (uh oh), though through cohabitation she starts to discover that David is still immature in his manners, and this gets personified in a hilarious scene where he prefers to spend more time on his Nintendo. Being 37, she feels her biological clock ticking, and wonders if she would be selfish to impose on David and have him grow up quickly. Given the age gap, it's also about sacrifices that one would make to bridge the difference, especially in expectations from the relationship (though in the beginning, it's all about the sex).

Like most romances, boy meets girl, boy woos girl, boy falls out of favour with girl. David has issues with telling his estranged mother about his relationship with Rafi, first because of their 14 year age gap, but more importantly, he knows that religion will play a major part in having her accepted as part of the family. Which makes you wonder about real life romances as well, the role of religion in a relationship, if it has the power to make, or break.

Uma Thurman is already 35, but still looks ravishing on screen, despite a few visible wrinkles. Newcomer (well, TV veteran) Bryan Greenberg holds his own as the young adult David Bloomberg, especially against veteran Meryl Streep.

Prime is a bittersweet tale, and I find it set in realism. Gone are the overplayed lovey-dovey moments, and I welcome the fact that with every relationship there are issues, and the major ones are the obstacles which determine if the relationship can survive, or not.