''If I Were You'' is a 2012 Canadian-British comedy-drama from

Joan Carr-Wiggin Joan Carr-Wiggin is a Canadian independent filmmaker who has worked as a writer, director, and producer. She began working as a filmmaker in her 40s in the early 1990s after a career as an economist and a novelist. She is married to producer Dav ...

starring

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. Born ...

Leonor Watling Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling (born 28 July 1975) is a Spanish film actress and singer. Early life Leonor Ceballos Watling was born on 28 July 1975 in Madrid, to a Spanish father from Cádiz and an English mother, the youngest of four si ...

and

Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an American actor who made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984). He has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), ''Stakeout'' (1987), ''Aval ...

Plot

Madelyn, a marketing professional, sees her husband (Paul) canoodling with his mistress (Lucy) in a restaurant and in her credulity decides to call him just to make sure it is him she has seen. Madelyn's distraught call grips Paul in his guilt and, consequently, he decides to leave Lucy on the spot. Madelyn follows Lucy and finds her upset and buying a long piece of rope. Suspecting Lucy is about to commit suicide, Madelyn stalks Lucy and finds she is getting ready to hang herself with the rope in her apartment. To save Lucy, Madelyn befriends her and aiming to help Lucy regain her confidence and develop a career in acting, she helps her get into a production of

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

. Madelyn plays Lear (as a Queen) while Lucy is the fool. The script and scenes of the main story are theatrically articulated as the movie pays homage to the theater and the play that has been embedded in it.

Cast

as Madelyn *

as Lucy *

as Derek * Valerie Mahaffey as Lydia *

Michael Therriault Michael Therriault is a Canadian actor. He attended Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Sheridan College in Oakville, and was a member of the inaugural season of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training in Stratford, Ontario ...

as Rainer (Director) *

Gary Piquer Gary Piquer is a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1979. Selected filmography References External links * Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Spanish male film actors 21st-century Spanish m ...

as Keith *

Elizabeth Whitmere Elizabeth Whitmere is a Canadian actress working in the United States and Canada. Born and raised in northern Canada, she draws on her experiences there in the development of her characters and her stand-up comedy. Whitmere appeared in her first ...

as Goneril *

Claire Brosseau Claire Brosseau is Canadian actor, writer and stand-up comedian. Filmography Film Television References External links * Canadian television actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian stand-up comedian ...

as Regan * Joseph Kell as Paul * Daniela Saioni as Waitress * Genadijs Dolganovs as Store Clerk * Bethany Jillard as Cordelia

Reception

The film has a 13% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 15 reviews with an average score of 3.86/10. Bruce Demara of ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' awarded the film one and a half stars out of four. Andrew Schenker of ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' awarded the film two stars out of five. Nick Schager of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

'' awarded the film two stars out of four. David Noh of Film Journal International review wrote, "An anti-rom-com in the best sense, Joan Carr-Wiggin's film joyously revives the screwball tradition with real wit, as well as making one fabulously tart female buddy movie."

References

External links

* * English-language Canadian films Canadian comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films 2012 comedy-drama films 2012 films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films 2010s British films {{2010s-comedy-drama-film-stub