The Dish & The Spoon (2012)

58% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(70 ratings)

Devastated by the news of her husband's affair and convulsed by waves of grief and rage, twenty something Rose (Greta Gerwig)-vengeful, a bit unhinged, and still clad in her pajama bottoms-drives to a sleepy seaside town in Delaware intent on finding her spouse's lover. Climbing into an old… More Devastated by the news of her husband's affair and convulsed by waves of grief and rage, twenty something Rose (Greta Gerwig)-vengeful, a bit unhinged, and still clad in her pajama bottoms-drives to a sleepy seaside town in Delaware intent on finding her spouse's lover. Climbing into an old lighthouse on the beach to swill a six-pack of beer, Rose stumbles upon a sleeping British teenager (Olly Alexander) whom she wakes and insists on taking somewhere. Stranded by some unknown party, the chatty, ludicrously attired youth accompanies Rose to a brewery where "the other woman" was recently employed and then to her parents' summer getaway house, slowly attuning to her anguish. As the grey winter days roll by, the mismatched pair embark on a series of frolicsome adventures-English dance lessons, role-playing in public-that bring them into closer quarters, igniting a bittersweet, perhaps imaginary romance. -- (C) Alison Bagnall

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Alison Bagnall
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 10, 2012 Limited
On DVD: Mar 12, 2012
Studio: Screen Media Ventures

Critic Reviews

Stephen Holden, New York Times
Beautifully photographed, "The Dish & the Spoon" is awash in images of rain-soaked streets and gray wintry skies.
Eric Hynes, Village Voice
For once, an American indie's muted modesty at least makes emotional sense, suiting a bittersweet romance that, by nature, has neither a name nor a future.
Ronnie Scheib, Variety
Bagnall successfully exploits the seriocomic disparity between the supercharged relationship offscreen and the desultory one onscreen.
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter
Gerwig handles her character's extreme mood swings with finesse.
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix
Director Alison Bagnall crafts a model independent film, a miniature story told with feeling and humor...
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Not so much an actual movie as an assortment of Amerindie affectations, The Dish & the Spoon doesn't waste a moment on recognizable reality, consumed as it is with checking off various items from its list of clichés.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Less dish than dishrag, Greta's broken woman does a stunning, kind of Albert Nobbs role reversal stud predator in drag. But this road movie detour into destination cautionary cougar romance, is not nearly as daring as its whimsical if troubled humans.
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo, Boxoffice Magazine
The Dish and Spoon poses the possibility that, from a different proximity, the MPG is a volatile beast and far more than the promise of your fantasies can actually tolerate.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
The film might be described as a notion that never quite grows up to be an idea, bookended by more or less scripted scenes that wouldn't have been out of place in a Goldie Hawn movie.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
With its deliberately quirky characters and meandering series of events, this mumblecore movie is enjoyably ramshackle, constantly catching us off guard with spiky humour or warm emotion.
Charlie Lyne, Ultra Culture
Too good-natured to hate but familiar enough to be instantly forgettable, The Dish and the Spoon is one for mumblecompletists only.
Fernando F. Croce, House Next Door
Quickly dissolves into an alternately spastic and drowsy mulch of Sundance-y clichés.