The Sisters
Loosely based on the classic Russian playThree Sisters,The Sisterstakes Anton Chekov's tale of failed marriages, stunted yearnings, and ordinary unhappiness and injects it with drug addiction, closeted homosexuality, and incest. Three daughters of a noted academic scholar find their lives falling apart: Marcia (Maria Bello,A History of Violence) loathes her psychologist husband and falls into the arms of a visiting old friend (Tony Goldwyn,Ghost); Olga (Mary Stuart Masterson,Fried Green Tomatoes) has turned brittle and secretive, despite a successful career; and Irene (Erika Christensen,The Upside of Anger), the baby of the family, finds herself engaged to a man she doesn't love (Chris O'Donnell,Kinsey). Meanwhile, their hapless brother Andrew (Allesandro Nivolla,Junebug) has married a brassy, vulgar woman all three sisters despise (Elizabeth Banks,Heights).  As their dysfunctions collide, everyone talks in lengthy, hyper-articulate, and brutal detail about their problems. But all the actors--especially Bello--dive into their roles with gusto and vigor, drawing out some genuine feeling from this woefully overwritten script.  Also featuring Rip Torn (Forty Shades of Blue,Men in Black) and Eric McCormack (Will & Grace).--Bret Fetzer