It’s nice to see Melissa McCarthy doing a serious role and really acting after some really bad movies. Her and Richard E. Grant had great chemistry. They are a lot of fun together. Those two make this worth watching. Otherwise the movie is pretty straightforward.

Lee Israel is not a very nice person... and yet she is kinda sympathetic. I feel similarly about the movie. It’s not a very good film, and yet you kinda spend a good time watching it.

Who would have thought that Melissa McCarthy is actually a good actress when she doesn’t play the pseudo funny roles.
Interesting story and well made movie.

I guess I'm in the minority on this one. Good acting but slow, boring, sad story that did nothing to draw me in.

First and foremost - did anyone know that Melissa McCarthy had these kinds of chops?  Give her the Oscar now, please.  She was mind-numbingly good in the portrayal of someone who fell apart a long time ago.  I thought the film did a great job showing the hypocrisy of the two leads in the film.  I've known my fair share of sketchy characters - the one thing they had in common was the belief that they weren't nearly as sketchy as they really were.  It was great to see Richard Grant in this kind of film - I've loved him ever since I first saw him in L.A. Story.  

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It just seems like _Inside Llewyn Davis_ but with a female lead...

I was looking forward to this movie quite a bit based on many of the positive reviews. Unfortunately however, I ultimately found it quite disappointing.

While Melissa McCarthy's performance is great, and shows surprising range (which I wasn't expecting), the script around her character was rather boring. We never really get much insight into why her character's life takes the turn it does, and beyond Lee's and Jack's relationship (which is fascinating), there isn't much else to sink your teeth into.

Meh.

It’s the perfect matinee for a book club seeking cinema. Had I not known, I would’ve said a modern Steven Spielberg directed this. It’s heavy on cheese, thereby stripping away most of the genuine emotion that could potentially be found in this story. The acting styles, the inauthentic dialogue, the obvious staging and directing choices, the constant musical handholding; most of that stuff really doesn’t work for me. Melissa McCarthy, when not hampered by poor directing, still does a pretty nice job. She can be uncharacteristically subtle here and displays a lot of range. She also has great chemistry with Richard E. Grant, though again I didn’t care for a lot of their banter due to the aforementioned reasons. I also thought the movie played with some interesting ideas in regards to artistic integrity, though it never digs deep enough to say something provocative. It’s not an awful film, but to me this is the definition of safe, forgettable oscar bait. It could’ve been alright with a more experienced director, but this didn’t work for me.

5/10

Fascinating true story bolstered by excellent acting turns from Grant and McCarthey. A real delight, with an intellegently written script (let's just hope it wasn't a forgery).

Unexpectedly emotional, with a towering central performance

Taking the form of a buddy crime caper in which two mismatched rogues are thrown together by circumstances and set out to stick it to a system, if you strip away the easily-digestible/easily-marketable surface, you'll find that Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a surprisingly moving study of loneliness.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/DlCgz

Lee Israel was once a bestselling author. Her writing career stalled after her latest book bombed. Then after a series of setbacks she began forging celebrity letters and selling them to book shops who would then sell them on to collectors. Some of the literary luminaries she forged were Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman & Louise Brooks.
Eventually the FBI caught up with her and she was found guilty of the crime. Parts of the story are a hilarious comedy especially when she meets up with Jack Hock who becomes an accomplice. Melissa McCarthy plays Lee & Richard E. Grant plays Jack in the movie.
SB

Amazing movie. Really enjoyed it!