# Please Give > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Please_Give > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Please_Give.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Give > Source revision: 1340358522 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|2010 film by Nicole Holofcener}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Please Give | image = Please Give Film.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [Nicole Holofcener](/source/Nicole_Holofcener) | writer = Nicole Holofcener | producer = Anthony Bregman | starring = {{Plainlist| * [Catherine Keener](/source/Catherine_Keener) * [Amanda Peet](/source/Amanda_Peet) * [Oliver Platt](/source/Oliver_Platt) * [Rebecca Hall](/source/Rebecca_Hall) * [Ann Guilbert](/source/Ann_Morgan_Guilbert) * [Sarah Steele](/source/Sarah_Steele) }} | cinematography = Yaron Orbach | editing = [Robert Frazen](/source/Robert_Frazen) | music = [Marcelo Zarvos](/source/Marcelo_Zarvos) | studio = [Likely Story](/source/Likely_Story) | distributor = [Sony Pictures Classics](/source/Sony_Pictures_Classics) | released = {{Film date|2010|01|22|[Sundance](/source/2010_Sundance_Film_Festival)|2010|04|30|United States}} | runtime = 87 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $3 million{{cite news|last=Ryzik|first=Melena|date=April 23, 2010|title=Relationships and Other Possessions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/movies/25give.html|url-status=live|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112232012/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/movies/25give.html|archive-date=January 12, 2024|access-date=March 23, 2024}} | gross = $4.5 million{{cite The Numbers|id=Please-Give|title=Please Give|access-date=March 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126130938/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Please-Give|archive-date=November 26, 2022|url-status=live}} }} '''''Please Give''''' is a 2010 American [comedy-drama](/source/Comedy_drama) film written and directed by [Nicole Holofcener](/source/Nicole_Holofcener). It stars [Catherine Keener](/source/Catherine_Keener), [Amanda Peet](/source/Amanda_Peet), [Oliver Platt](/source/Oliver_Platt), [Rebecca Hall](/source/Rebecca_Hall), [Ann Guilbert](/source/Ann_Morgan_Guilbert), and [Sarah Steele](/source/Sarah_Steele). It revolves around married antique-dealers butting heads with the granddaughters of the elderly woman who lives in the apartment the couple owns. The film had its world premiere at the [Sundance Film Festival](/source/2010_Sundance_Film_Festival) on January 22, 2010, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 30, 2010, by [Sony Pictures Classics](/source/Sony_Pictures_Classics). It grossed over $4.5 million worldwide against a $3 million budget. It received positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised Holofcener's screenplay and the performances of the cast, and was named one of the top 10 independent films of 2010 by the [National Board of Review](/source/National_Board_of_Review). At the [26th Independent Spirit Awards](/source/26th_Independent_Spirit_Awards), the film was given the [Robert Altman Award](/source/Independent_Spirit_Robert_Altman_Award) and Holofcener was nominated for [Best Screenplay](/source/Independent_Spirit_Award_for_Best_Screenplay). ==Plot summary== {{More plot|date=November 2015}} Kate and Alex are a couple living in a New York City apartment with their teenage daughter, Abby. Kate and Alex own a furniture store specializing in used [modern furniture](/source/modern_furniture), which they buy at [estate sale](/source/estate_sale)s. They have bought the apartment adjacent to theirs, but its occupant, the elderly and cranky Andra, will stay in it until she dies. Andra has two granddaughters, the dutiful and generous Rebecca, a [mammography technologist](/source/Radiographer), and the cynical, sharp-tongued Mary, a [cosmetologist](/source/cosmetologist). Kate is troubled by the profits she makes from furniture sellers who do not know the value of what they are selling; the contrast between homeless people in her neighborhood and her own comfortable life; and the fact that her family will only be able to expand their apartment when Andra dies. She tries to assuage her guilt through volunteer jobs (which leave her weeping) and donations to homeless individuals (which sometimes backfire). ==Cast== {{Cast listing| * [Catherine Keener](/source/Catherine_Keener) as Kate * [Amanda Peet](/source/Amanda_Peet) as Mary * [Oliver Platt](/source/Oliver_Platt) as Alex * [Rebecca Hall](/source/Rebecca_Hall) as Rebecca * [Ann Guilbert](/source/Ann_Morgan_Guilbert) as Andra * [Sarah Steele](/source/Sarah_Steele) as Abby * [Thomas Ian Nicholas](/source/Thomas_Ian_Nicholas) as Eugene * [Lois Smith](/source/Lois_Smith) as Mrs. Portman * [Josh Pais](/source/Josh_Pais) as Adam * [Amy Wright](/source/Amy_Wright) as Erin * Elizabeth Keener as Cathy * Elise Ivy as Marissa * [Scott Cohen](/source/Scott_Cohen_(actor)) as Dr. Lerner * John Srednicki as Tommy * Timothy Doyle as Kevin * [Rebecca Budig](/source/Rebecca_Budig) as Big Back * [Romy Rosemont](/source/Romy_Rosemont) as Carrie-Ann * Kathleen Doyle as Anita * [Kevin Corrigan](/source/Kevin_Corrigan) as Don * [Elizabeth Berridge](/source/Elizabeth_Berridge_(actress)) as Elyse * Portia as Mrs. Melnick * [Paul Sparks](/source/Paul_Sparks) as Blind Date * [Arthur French](/source/Arthur_French_(actor)) as Man Waiting for a Table }} ==Release== ''Please Give'' was screened out of competition at the [60th Berlin International Film Festival](/source/60th_Berlin_International_Film_Festival), and had a limited U.S. release on April 30, 2010. It opened with $118,123 in five theaters, averaging $23,625 per cinema.{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=pleasegive.htm|title=Please Give (2010)|work=[Box Office Mojo](/source/Box_Office_Mojo)|accessdate=5 May 2010}} ==Filming== ''Please Give'' was filmed almost entirely in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). The bulk of the film was shot in [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea%2C_Manhattan), including the spa scenes at Skintology, a day and medical spa.{{cite web |title=Please Give Film Locations |url=http://onthesetofnewyork.com/pleasegive.html |access-date=November 24, 2022 |website=onthesetofnewyork.com}} ==Reception== ===Box office=== ''Please Give'' grossed $4,033,574 in the United States and Canada, and $533,088 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $4,566,662. ===Critical response=== {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|85|7.5|140|consensus=Nicole Holofcener's newest might seem slight in places, but its rendering of complex characters in a conflicted economic landscape is varied, natural, and touching all the same.|ref=yes|access-date=April 28, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123134950/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/0878835|archive-date=November 23, 2023|url-status=live}} {{Metacritic film prose|78|35|ref=yes|access-date=March 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602234935/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/please-give|archive-date=June 2, 2023|url-status=live}} [Manohla Dargis](/source/Manohla_Dargis) of ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' opined, "Few American filmmakers create female characters as realistically funny, attractively imperfect and flat-out annoying as does Ms. Holofcener."{{cite news|last=Dargis|first=Manohla|date=April 29, 2010|title=Holding Up a Mirror to Women, Thorns and All|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/movies/30please.html|url-status=live|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616172513/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/movies/30please.html|archive-date=June 16, 2023|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [Kenneth Turan](/source/Kenneth_Turan) of the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'' stated, "''Please Give'' concerns itself with the free-floating, amorphous guilt that's often characteristic of the modern urban condition. Obviously, it is a fine thing to help, to give, but ''Please Give'' wonders whether a good thing can be overdone, whether too much liberal guilt can leave you feeling too bad for too many people to do any real good."{{cite news|last=Turan|first=Kenneth|date=April 30, 2010|title=Movie review: 'Please Give'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-30-la-et-please-give-20100430-story.html|url-status=live|work=[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130143532/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-30-la-et-please-give-20100430-story.html|archive-date=November 30, 2023|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [Lisa Schwarzbaum](/source/Lisa_Schwarzbaum) of ''[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)'' gave the film an "A−" and wrote, "With their shared characteristics of sex, age, motherhood, and brunet hair, Keener has become Holofcener's artistic alter ego. In ''Please Give'', the sharp-eyed filmmaker sends her vibrant representative out into the world to explore what it means for a woman to be lucky and still feel itchy."{{cite magazine|last=Schwarzbaum|first=Lisa|date=April 30, 2010|title=Please Give|url=https://ew.com/article/2010/04/30/please-give/|url-status=live|magazine=[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420075035/https://ew.com/article/2010/04/30/please-give/|archive-date=April 20, 2021|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [Justin Chang](/source/Justin_Chang) of ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))'' commented, "Like Holofcener's previous pictures, ''Please Give'' derives its narrative energy less from a series of plotted incidents than from its keenly observed interplay of clashing personality tics and worldviews."{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Justin|date=January 23, 2010|title=Please Give|url=https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/please-give-1117941946/|url-status=live|work=[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628045745/http://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/please-give-1117941946/|archive-date=June 28, 2017|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [David Edelstein](/source/David_Edelstein) of ''[New York Magazine](/source/New_York_(magazine))'' described the film as "an engagingly high-strung comedy about lack of empathy and the gnawing guilt that can attend it" and remarked, "Holofcener's plotting can seem casual, but her dialogue is smart, an oscillating mixture of abrasiveness and balm, of harsh satire and compassionate pullback."{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|date=April 23, 2010|title=The Selfish Altruist|url=https://nymag.com/movies/reviews/65622/|url-status=live|work=[New York Magazine](/source/New_York_(magazine))|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206114219/https://nymag.com/movies/reviews/65622/|archive-date=February 6, 2024|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [Peter Travers](/source/Peter_Travers) of ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)'' gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and noted, "The pitch-perfect performances help Holofcener stir up feelings that cut to the heart of what defines an ethical life. There's no movie around right now with a subject more pertinent. It'll hit you hard."{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|date=April 29, 2010|title=Please Give|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/please-give-248230/|url-status=live|magazine=[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703040420/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/please-give-248230/|archive-date=July 3, 2022|access-date=March 24, 2024}} [Peter Bradshaw](/source/Peter_Bradshaw) of ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "''Please Give'' is an interesting and refreshing turn for the better. As an ensemble comedy, it has more bounce, more life and more comic oxygen."{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|date=June 17, 2010|title=Please Give|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jun/17/please-give-film-review|url-status=live|work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006105515/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jun/17/please-give-film-review|archive-date=October 6, 2021|access-date=March 24, 2024}} ===Accolades=== At the [15th Satellite Awards](/source/15th_Satellite_Awards), the film's editor [Robert Frazen](/source/Robert_Frazen) won for [Best Editing](/source/Satellite_Award_for_Best_Editing). It was also nominated for [Best Film – Musical or Comedy](/source/Satellite_Award_for_Best_Film), ultimately losing to ''[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World](/source/Scott_Pilgrim_vs._the_World)''.{{cite news|last=Kilday|first=Gregg|date=December 19, 2010|title='Social Network' Named Best Dramatic Film at Satellite Awards|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/social-network-named-dramatic-film-61579/|url-status=live|work=[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130135131/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/social-network-named-dramatic-film-61579/|archive-date=November 30, 2024|access-date=December 29, 2024}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{Official website|sonyclassics.com/pleasegive/}} * {{IMDb title|0878835}} {{Nicole Holofcener}} {{Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award}} Category:2010 films Category:2010 black comedy films Category:2010 comedy-drama films Category:2010 independent films Category:2010 American films Category:2010 English-language films Category:American black comedy films Category:American comedy-drama films Category:American independent films Category:English-language black comedy films Category:English-language independent films Category:Films about adultery in the United States Category:Films about families Category:Films directed by Nicole Holofcener Category:Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos Category:Films set in New York City Category:Films shot in New York City Category:Films with screenplays by Nicole Holofcener Category:Satellite Award–winning films Category:Sony Pictures Classics films --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Please Give](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Give) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Give?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.