Maggie's Plan

Maggie's Plan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rebecca Miller
Produced by	Damon Cardasis Rachael Horovitz Rebecca Miller
Written by	Rebecca Miller
Story by	Karen Rinaldi
Starring	Greta Gerwig Ethan Hawke Bill Hader Maya Rudolph Travis Fimmel Wallace Shawn Ida Rohatyn Julianne Moore
Music by	Michael Rohatyn
Cinematography	Sam Levy
Edited by	Sabine Hoffmann
Production companies	Hall Monitor Locomotive Rachael Horovitz Productions Round Films
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates	September 12, 2015 (2015-09-12) (TIFF) May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20) (United States)
Running time	98 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English Danish
Box office	$4.9 million[2]

Maggie's Plan is a 2015 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and written by Rebecca Miller, based on the original story by Karen Rinaldi. The film stars Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Travis Fimmel, Wallace Shawn, Ida Rohatyn, Monte Greene, and Julianne Moore.

The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2015.^[3][4] Sony Pictures Classics released the film on May 20, 2016. ^[5]

Synopsis

Maggie Harden, a director of business for the art and design students at a university, decides she wants to have a child and enlists a former college acquaintance, Guy Childers, a pickle entrepreneur, to donate his sperm.

After accidentally receiving two cheques she goes to correct the issue with payroll where she meets John Harding a "ficto-critical anthropologist" who is married to a tenured professor at Columbia. Bumping into each other repeatedly on campus John eventually confides in Maggie that he is writing a novel and wants her to read the first chapter. They use the novel as an excuse to get closer to one another.

The day Maggie has chosen to inseminate herself Guy comes over but forgets the sperm and offers to have sex with her. Maggie turns him down and he instead masturbates in her bathroom to provide a sperm sample and then leaves after taking a selfie with her. Maggie attempts to inseminate herself but is interrupted by the doorbell. It is John, who confesses that he is in love with her and wants to be the father of her child.

Three years later Maggie's daughter Lily is a toddler and they live together with John. Maggie repeatedly finds herself having to put her professional goals on the back burner to take care of Lily and her two step-children as John is selfish and puts himself first. Taking Lily for a walk she runs into Guy, whose pickles are now being sold at Whole Foods. Guy initially thinks Lily is his daughter but Maggie tells him that he is mistaken as she met her husband around the time she was asking him to donate his sperm and that Lily is John's child. He gives her a jar of pickles as a wedding present.

Driven by curiosity Maggie goes of see Georgette, John's ex-wife, at a book signing. She finds Georgette charming and interesting. She approaches Georgette and tells her that she knows Georgette is still in love with John, and she wants to help them get back together, because Georgette's selfishness helps to temper John's. Initially appalled, Georgette decides to go along with the plan, and asks for Maggie's help getting John to attend a ficto-critical conference in Quebec which she will be attending. At the conference Georgette apologizes to John for ignoring them during their marriage, and the two sleep together. Returning home, John confesses all to Maggie who tells him he belongs with Georgette.

Georgette and John decide to break the news of their renewed relationship to their children slowly. John forgoes spending the night with Georgette, and instead crashes on the couch of one of his friends who also knows Maggie. He learns that Maggie had planned to reunite him with Georgette, and he grows furious, disappearing for a while. Maggie goes to speak to Georgette in order to try and find out any news about John, and ends up taking Georgette and the children to her home, where Georgette proves as much of a nuisance as John was. Georgette spends the day reading John's novel. Meeting with him later she hands him a pile of ash which is his burned manuscript, and tells him he is not a novelist but a non-fiction writer. Realizing that she knows him better than he knows himself John forgives Georgette for her part in the scheme, and they reunite.

Sometime later the blended family goes out skating. Maggie is surprised when Lily begins to recite numbers, as neither she nor John are mathematically inclined. She begins to suspect that Guy, who was a former math major, might be Lily's biological father. As she is contemplating the possibility she sees Guy walking towards the ice rink.

Cast

Production

On January 9, 2014, it was announced that director Rebecca Miller and Greta Gerwig would reteam on rom-com Maggie's Plan to direct and star, respectively, scripted by Miller and based on the story by Karen Rinaldi.^[6] Rachael Horovitz was set to produce through Specialty Films along with Miller and Damon Cardasis through their Round Films.^[6] Julianne Moore was added to the cast of the film on January 15, 2014.^[7] Clive Owen had joined on May 1, 2014,^[8] although he did not appear in the finished film, while on February 2, 2015, Travis Fimmel joined the film's cast.^[9] On February 3, 2015, Variety reported that Ethan Hawke, Bill Hader, and Maya Rudolph had joined the film.^[10]

Filming

Filming began on February 23, 2015 in New York City.^[10][11]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival during its 40th anniversary on September 12, 2015.^[3] Shortly after Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film.^[12] The film had its U.S premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 4, 2015.^[13] It also went on to screen at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2016,^[14][15] and the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2016.^[16][17] After a New York invitation-only premiere on May 5, 2016, the film was released in the United States on May 20, 2016.^[18]

Critical response

Maggie's Plan received positive reviews from film critics. It holds an 86% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's consensus reads, "With a typically absorbing performance from Greta Gerwig leading the way, Maggie's Plan gives rom-com sensibilities a smart, subversive twist.".^[19] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 74 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[20]

Variety's Dennis Harvey describing it as "nicely crafted on all levels" with "Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore making a pleasing triangle in Rebecca Miller's offbeat romantic comedy".^[21] Richard Lawson from Vanity Fair praised the film as "A smart, goofy delight!", highlighting Julianne Moore's "comedy chops" and praising the rest of the cast as being in "near-perfect harmony, creating a lively, inviting hum".^[22] Other critics also pointed out Julianne Moore's performance as "scene stealing", including Nigel M. Smith from The Guardian: "Maggie’s Plan serves as a strong reminder for what a comedic force Moore can be when served by the right material."^[23] He also singled out Gerwig for "effortlessly leading most of the picture".

References

External links

• Official website
• Maggie's Plan at the Internet Movie Database