Ira and Abby (2006)

68% of critics liked it
(41 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(2,639 ratings)

Love at first sight has some interesting repercussions a few months down the line in this offbeat romantic comedy. Ira Black (Chris Messina) is a wildly neurotic thirtysomething who can't get his life in gear -- the son of a pair of therapists, Arlene (Judith Light) and Seymour (Robert Klein), Ira… More Love at first sight has some interesting repercussions a few months down the line in this offbeat romantic comedy. Ira Black (Chris Messina) is a wildly neurotic thirtysomething who can't get his life in gear -- the son of a pair of therapists, Arlene (Judith Light) and Seymour (Robert Klein), Ira still hasn't finished his grad school dissertation, he's been in therapy for 12 years, and can't bring himself to settle down with his longtime girlfriend Lea (Maddie Corman). When both Lea and his analyst inform Ira that they don't want to see him anymore, he decides he needs to make some changes. Ira joins a health club, where he meets Abby Willoughby (Jennifer Westfeldt), who is supposed to sell memberships to the gym but is much better at listening to people's problems. The two discover they have a strong and immediate rapport, and Ira asks Abby to marry him only a few hours later. Abby says yes, and soon the couple are wed. However, it isn't until after they've been married for a few weeks that Ira discovers Abby has been divorced twice already, and it makes him very uneasy about their relationship. Despite more therapy, Ira asks Abby for a divorce, and it sends shock waves through their families -- Arlene begins having an affair with Michael (Fred Willard), Abby's free-spirited father, while Seymour commiserates with Abby's mother Lynne (Frances Conroy), and eventually parents and children are all meeting together in group therapy for couples. Ira and Abby was written by leading lady Jennifer Westfeldt, who was also screenwriter and star for the independent hit Kissing Jessica Stein. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Robert Cary
Written By: Jennifer Westfeldt
Genres: Comedy, Romance

In Theaters: Jun 23, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Jan 29, 2008
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times
The movie benefits from an exceptionally strong line-up of supporting characters beautifully played by a top-notch cast.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Ira & Abby has plenty of sharp details, mostly verbal, and it gives old pros and newer faces a chance to show off their poker-faced comic wiles.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Ira & Abby is like its characters: nice with a lot of problems.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It's sunny, oh-so-New-York and ever-so cute, and Messina and Westfeldt, under-used actors, are equally beguiling.
David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
Ira & Abby is a comedy of errors that makes very few along the way.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
...Ira & Abby radiates a breathless charm, due in no small part to Ms. Westfeldt's sharp dialogue and engagingly unmannered performance.
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly
An odd love poem for cynics who have thrown sentimentality into the garbage.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Robert Carey directs his cast with zest and the film plays its laughs with a sense of gentle sardonic smirk that makes it inoffensive yet tart.
Christian Toto, Washington Times
Ira & Abby may drive you into therapy, but you'll be chuckling all the way.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
The steady addition of more and more characters served to fragment what could have been a charming romantic comedy.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible."
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Ira and Abby may be a divorce comedy, but the perfect marriage of two comically inspired minds, director Robert Cary (Anything But Love) and writer/star Jennifer Wesfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is irresistible.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Ira & Abby" doesn't throw out the romantic comedy rule book, but it occasionally shuffles the pages a little for comic effect.
Adam Fendelman, HollywoodChicago.com
In the season that has seen such loathsome films as Good Luck Chuck and The Heartbreak Kid, Ira & Abby is remarkable proof that a compelling and funny love story can appear on celluloid.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
On paper, Ira and Abby sounds like a sitcom (in fact, it sounds like Dharma & Greg). But intelligence and fine acting shoves it up several notches.
Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic.com
It spends so much time reminding of how quaint and kooky it is throughout that you may find yourself pulling out your wallet or purse and offering it some of your hard-earned money if it will agree to just simmer down and go away
Brian Orndorf, eFilmCritic.com
Ira & Abby is a charming film, but it's nearly great when it settles down and causally explores life's often strange complications.
Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly
The group-therapy scene that wraps it up brings those substantial themes together in a way that's uproariously funny.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
The result is light but surprisingly fresh, and even a bit insightful.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Offers some smiles and rueful insights about the vicissitudes of love, but its almost slavish imitation of the Woody Allen formula ultimately makes it seem stale.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jim H

A couple quickly falls in love and marries, and then they have to deal with the ramifications. This film is remarkably uneven. It is often jaunty and farcical, but there are moments of true pathos that demand we take the action more seriously than we had been prepared for. There is… More
A couple quickly falls in love and marries, and then they have to deal with the ramifications. This film is remarkably uneven. It is often jaunty and farcical, but there are moments of true pathos that demand we take the action more seriously than we had been prepared for. There is also great truth in the moments when, for example, Seymour says, "It's impossible to ever truly know anybody." But immediately after we get a ridiculous scene involving everybody's therapists and people carrying on ad infinitum. The primary eponymous story offers some fairly charming moments, but the supporting stories often have little to do with the main action and only distract from the people we want to care about. The performances by Chris Messina and Jennifer Westfeldt (especially Westfeldt) often make their outlandish characters believable, and by the end of the film, I wished I knew them better and got to spend more time in their presence. Overall, there's a lot to like about Ira and Abby, but not much to like about <i>Ira and Abby</i> because the film as whole suffers from too much business and not enough substance.
Jennifer X

I'm at least glad to know that somebody is filling in for the psychoneurotic Jewish dilettante while Woody is off parading himself in Europe doing god-knows-what. This movie largely succeeds due to Jennifer Westfeldt, who plays Abby with such au naturale the role seems made for… More
I'm at least glad to know that somebody is filling in for the psychoneurotic Jewish dilettante while Woody is off parading himself in Europe doing god-knows-what. This movie largely succeeds due to Jennifer Westfeldt, who plays Abby with such au naturale the role seems made for her. The supporting Jewish cast feels like a return home to my favorite genre in the world, so much that I'm willing to forgive Chris Messina for being such a complete jerk.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Ira & Abby," Ira(Chris Messina) has spent the last six years of his life working on his doctoral dissertation on psychology.(Both of his parents(Robert Klein & Judith Light) are psychoanalysts.) After twelve years of therapy, his analyst can… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Ira & Abby," Ira(Chris Messina) has spent the last six years of his life working on his doctoral dissertation on psychology.(Both of his parents(Robert Klein & Judith Light) are psychoanalysts.) After twelve years of therapy, his analyst can do nothing more for him and is dumping him. Unable to make up his mind about lunch, Ira at least knows that he wants to be in better physical shape, so he wanders across to a gym and fills out a member application. 45 minutes later, he wants to leave but that is when Abby(Jennifer Westfeldt, who also wrote the screenplay) shows up to give him a tour. Six hours later, they are still together, so she does the sensible and responsible thing and proposes marriage...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Ira & Abby" is a misguided and insipid romantic comedy that seeks to mine the material and chemistry that results from two polar opposites coming together but both lead characters are so unappealing and underwritten that it is impossible for any spark to occur. For example, if Abby whose main characteristic is that she is a good listener is this drawn to every man she meets, then why isn't she less lonely? However, there is some truth expressed late, especially on the subject of marriage and why it should it not be a decision made lightly. But basically the film is just content to take its shots at the psychoanalytical profession. Yes, we all need someone to talk to but there are also cases that definitely require a professional touch.[/font]
Fascade F

Don't know how I missed or passed this one up..but it was simply hilarious. To me, Ira Black (Chris Messina) plays the part of the perfect neurotic "schlepper" in this movie.Ira was so bad in relationships that his own psychiatrist doesn't want to see him any… More
Don't know how I missed or passed this one up..but it was simply hilarious. To me, Ira Black (Chris Messina) plays the part of the perfect neurotic "schlepper" in this movie.Ira was so bad in relationships that his own psychiatrist doesn't want to see him any more...after being with him for 12 years! He advises Ira to go out and find himself. As Ira neglectfully does so and meets Abby (Jennifer Westfeldt who is a rare gem in this film!), at a gym. They meet and greet but Abby has some amazing plans to do more than meet him....introduce him to her parents.The two wind up getting married so early that the penalties for not waiting are huge. This turned out to be so radically whimsically funny that everybody winds up in therapy!!! Please see this classic hysterical romance!
Deb S

"This is a f^cking nightmare" Judith Light. Pretty much sums this movie up. At 33, Ira can't make up his mind about anything. He's has an on and off relationship with Lea (Maddie Corman) for nine years, he can't finish his doctoral dissertation to allow him… More
"This is a f^cking nightmare" Judith Light. Pretty much sums this movie up. At 33, Ira can't make up his mind about anything. He's has an on and off relationship with Lea (Maddie Corman) for nine years, he can't finish his doctoral dissertation to allow him to go into his parents' business, he can't decide what to order for lunch and he has been in therapy with the same shrink for 12 years. When his shrink tells him they need to end their therapy sessions because he is not getting better, he decides to join the gym but ends up waiting forever for the saleswoman, who turns out to be Abby. Of course, she's everything he's not: free spirited and perky, a woman who sees the world differently and impetuously proposes marriage and sex to him. A whirlwind courtship and marriage ensues but there are comic complications which include Abby's tangled romantic past and Ira's longtime ex-girlfriend and endless over-analyzing what the other does. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2qbsvmu" target="_blank"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2qbsvmu.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Abby's parents, seemingly the happiest people on Earth, are played by Fred Willard and Frances Conroy. Ira's folks, both tightly wound analysts are played by Judith Light and Robert Klein. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2cels84" target="_blank"><img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2cels84.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Major Spoiler : Ira & Abby hilariously climaxes with the three couples in group therapy with their respective shrinks (among them Jason Alexander) when the father of the bride embarks on an affair with the mother of the groom.
William G

A plethora of neuroses cannot replace legitimate humor or heart.
Sunil J

I watch this now whenever I have a bad day because it cheers me up to no end. Abby perhaps outshines Sam from Garden State and I enjoy Ira's paranoia.