When a film is heavy on the rough language, sometimes it can be difficult to see past it and discover a positive message. I thought that might be the case with All About Nina, but as the movie progresses, moments of love and hope filter through.
The film focuses on the life of Nina Geld (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a 30-year-old stand-up comic in New York who moves to Los Angeles hoping for an important TV audition. She has a hard time committing to relationships because of past personal trauma and has never had more than a short-term fling. In fact, she has a pattern of getting herself in tangled situations with married or abusive men. Then she meets Rafe (Common), who also has a fraught romantic history. He works hard, though, to convince her that he’s kind, gentle and one of the good guys. Eventually he breaks through Nina’s prickly defenses and wins her trust.
I liked the two-fold message that there are still good people out there with unselfish relationship ideals, and that it’s possible to have a love life that is more than just a series of casual hookups. Chace Crawford portrays Nina’s married lover, Joe, and Beau Bridges makes a brief appearance as a television exec. Camryn Manheim plays Nina’s mom, who struggles with her daughter’s painful past almost as much as Nina does.
Should you see it? Yes. The film is not family-friendly, but it has its merits. -J.J.