Anne Hathaway received her first Oscar Nomination for best actress thanks to a strong acting performance as a recovering drug addict home for her sister’s wedding.

Hathaway leads a talented cast of mostly unknown actors and actresses that make this movie seem more like a long home movie that follows Hathaway’s character “Kym” through a week at home with her disfunctional, but loving family.  Bill Irwin is solid as the father trying to keep the family together despite the stress of a wedding and the emotional strain that Kym puts on the family.  Rosemarie DeWitt is great as Kym’s sister Rachel who tries to balance being the center of attention while planning for her wedding with an addict sister who needs to be the center of attention.  Debra Winger has a small, but solid, emotional part as the distant, remarried mother of th sisters.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The documentary/hand held camera style may be difficult for some, and except for a couple scenes (wedding rehearsal dinner and dancing at the wedding) that seem to go on forever, this is a pretty good movie with really good acting… I give it 7.0 out of 10.

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