Flannel Pajamas (2005)

51% of critics liked it
(45 reviews)
34% of users liked it
(13,091 ratings)

When a blind date arranged by mutual friends results in a whirlwind courtship for an enchanted young couple, the pair soon discover that fate may not ultimately be so kind in director Jeff Lipsky's affecting romance. As the rain poured down on the night that they first met, Stuart and Nicole sat… More When a blind date arranged by mutual friends results in a whirlwind courtship for an enchanted young couple, the pair soon discover that fate may not ultimately be so kind in director Jeff Lipsky's affecting romance. As the rain poured down on the night that they first met, Stuart and Nicole sat mesmerized in a small diner, wondering if life could truly get any better than it was in those early, magical moments. In the coming weeks they found that indeed life could get better, but as the young couple embarks on a dizzying romance their initial enchantment soon gives way to a painful reversal of fortunes. With human flaws eclipsing the perceived initial perfection and the disparities of their backgrounds prying open an ever deepening chasm filled with selfishness and religious conflict, Stuart and Nicole soon find that the heartbreak of their failing romance is as emotionally devastating as their early moments together were intoxicating. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 4 min.
Directed By: Jeff Lipsky
Written By: Jeff Lipsky
Genres: Drama, Romance

In Theaters: Nov 24, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Apr 10, 2007
Studio: Gigantic Pictures

Critic Reviews

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
Flannel Pajamas is so gorged with gab it feels like a filibuster.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Better to rent Scenes From a Marriage, Manhattan or My Dinner With Andre and stay home -- flannel pajamas optional.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
In his sophomore feature, Lipsky doesn't feel the need to pump the movie with showy visual tricks. You don't even know he's there most of the time, which is probably a compliment.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flannel Pajamas is a sharply observed dissection of a couple's relationship, from blind date to marriage to difficulties over everything from whether to get a dog to when to have a baby.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
This is all quite fascinating.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
[Star Julianne] Nicholson does remarkable work in an unsympathetic role, helped by [director Jeff] Lipsky's fine control of his characters.
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com
Twenty minutes or so of cuts would probably have helped the movie pack a more potent punch.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
They ought to have cut both the film and the marriage a little shorter.
Marc Mohan, Oregonian
The incisive moments of recognizable humanity, though, are outnumbered by those of awkward obviousness.
Jeffrey Lyles, Gazette (MD)
There's nothing flashy about it... but in those quiet moments, a real heartfelt movie develops.
Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times
Maybe Lipsky's been too direct in his screenplay; he makes us feel like informed witnesses to their relationship rather than participants. Which means, we spend most of the movie thinking, just break up already, please.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
It's a harsh look at a love that seems good until it isn't any more... and frankly, I got tired of both of these people long before they got tired of each other.
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
This is the kind of introspective drama in which a determined pair of young, very fine actors and a strong filmmaker put everything on the line to explore emotional truth wherever it exists.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
[Writer/director] Lipsky has something to say about the impossibility of human beings to love each other, but his language is that of an amateur playwright who does not know when he is only repeating cliches.
Jeanne Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
Both Nicholson and Kirk are terrific actors, but the script limits them and their performances.
David Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
Kirk and Nicholson provide solid acting throughout the movie. Lipsky's writing is frequently original. However, the overall sense of this film is that it lacks credibility.
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
With "Flannel Pajamas" Lipsky has written an excellent off-Broadway play, not a film.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

A finely crafted indie drama, with outstanding performances by Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk. It moves forward with such amazing clarity, and painful honesty. Anyone that has ever had to go through a divorce, or even a difficult doomed relationship, can recognize how real this… More
A finely crafted indie drama, with outstanding performances by Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk. It moves forward with such amazing clarity, and painful honesty. Anyone that has ever had to go through a divorce, or even a difficult doomed relationship, can recognize how real this movie is....and sad. This film shows a non-sugarcoated portrayal of love.
Jim H

Watching this relationship begin is like a bad car wreck. The couple's relationship progresses way too quickly - before we are able to get to know them well and before they are able to really understand each other. More to the point, Stuart is a first-class, grade A asshole.… More
Watching this relationship begin is like a bad car wreck. The couple's relationship progresses way too quickly - before we are able to get to know them well and before they are able to really understand each other. More to the point, Stuart is a first-class, grade A asshole. He's almost impossible to like. What is interesting is the film's attempt to give us intelligent characters. It is as though Lipsky saw a Woody Allen movie and said, "I want characters who read in my film too!" Except, when Stuart goes off on his complex analysis of Nicole's character, it is more presumptuous than accurate, more like an authorial voice than his. Structurally, Flannel Pajamas is a mess. Many of the "other things" that interfere in this couple's relationship seem to come from left field. This is particularly true of the mother-in-law's antisemitism, which was so radical a departure from the action that I wondered if this film was too autobiographical ... or simply poorly made. But for all its flaws, I found myself charmed by Flannel Pajamas. I think I respect what the film was trying to do, even though it never got there. After all, life's events, which intrude on our relationships, never happen in manner conducive to good story-telling. Overall, see a real Woody Allen movie or Scenes from a Marriage instead, but if you've seen all of these, then scrape Flannel Pajamas off the bottom of the barrel.
paul s

a film that wallows in its own oddity. There are scenes of poetic dialogue and others that are just so obvious that you wonder why they didn't end up on the cutting room floor. There is good acting going on here, but somehow, by the end of the film you just don't care… More
a film that wallows in its own oddity. There are scenes of poetic dialogue and others that are just so obvious that you wonder why they didn't end up on the cutting room floor. There is good acting going on here, but somehow, by the end of the film you just don't care anymore. Many have said that the message of the film is that "real" love can't survive. That's bull - this isn't real love, at least not in the male lead's case - he loves that he can dominate and manipulate her - which, while being a form of self love, shows he doesn't love her at all (proven by his sudden "need" for her after she finally grows a spine and leaves him). The revelations about the lead's envy of his crazy brother hold more attention than the 2nd half of the film, which seems to spin out of control and fall into a pattern of non-sequitors like the hospital cafeteria conversation with the mother, which starts out with her proclaiming anti-semitism, but then saying that had nothing to do with her dislike for him, and her feelings that he wasn't right for her daughter. Ok, I'll buy that often truths are couched behind a smoke screen of other words, but this was just out there and left you feeling ambivelent about the entire affair.
Curtis L

At first I thought this movie was just an excuse to show lots of nudity. As it progressed it became a pretty interesting depiction of a couple who are happy and get married ignoring things that later in their marriage become a problem, eventually leading to a divorce. That's… More
At first I thought this movie was just an excuse to show lots of nudity. As it progressed it became a pretty interesting depiction of a couple who are happy and get married ignoring things that later in their marriage become a problem, eventually leading to a divorce. That's really the whole plot, and it's more of an exploration of the event than anything else.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Flannel Pajamas" takes place in New York City where Stuart(Justin Kirk) and Nicole(Julianne Nicholson) have been set up on a blind date by their mutual therapist, Cathy(Stephanie March).(Ethics anyone?) Stuart is a sales group manager for Broadway… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Flannel Pajamas" takes place in New York City where Stuart(Justin Kirk) and Nicole(Julianne Nicholson) have been set up on a blind date by their mutual therapist, Cathy(Stephanie March).(Ethics anyone?) Stuart is a sales group manager for Broadway plays while Nicole, originally from Montana and a large family, is in sales and wants to one day write a cookbook. The date goes well and they see each other again. As the relationship progresses, they decide to share a high rise apartment with a great view of the Hudson River.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Jeff Lipsky, "Flannel Pajamas" is an honest, unflinching and unashamedly erotic view of relationships, including the ups and downs, the compromises, and the misunderstandings. The movie starts out great, but eventually does go on too long, as it seeks to satisfy an unnecessary need to spell things out, especially why Nicole is in therapy. And it does resemble a play too much for its own good.(Gene Seymour, the reviewer for Newsday, invoked "Scenes from a Marriage" in his review. I was also thinking a little bit of Woody Allen.) I wish it would have explored New York City more and not spent so much time indoors.(Although there is something to be said for the claustrophobic aura.) As a friend recently explained, people in Manhattan do not mind having small apartments, if they are never home. [/font]