originally entitled dancing about architecture ( i . e . 
 " talking about love is like dancing about architecture " ) , but changed because it sounded too much like the recent box-office dud dancing at lughnasa , this film slaps together a stunning cast of hollywood names , playing interesting and well-written characters , within a vignettes-styled plot arrangement a la robert altman . 
plot : follow the lives of several couples falling in and out of love , finding themselves , regaining a clearer understanding of the people that they are , and who they want , and appreciating the fine emotional art of love . 
critique : charmingly effective romantic drama , this film offers insight into various types of relationships , presents us with interesting characters and excellent performances from the cast , and scratches beneath the surface of love and its many complex subtleties . 
how do people fall in love ? 
why do people fall out of love ? 
how do people fall back into love , once they've been hurt and left to join the lonely hearts club ? 
all of these questions and more , are touched upon in this film , within several types of variant relationships . 
meet a hip , young couple going through their first date . 
a divorcee attempting to date again after her many failed relationships . 
a married woman " finding herself " while cheating on her husband . 
a husband letting go of his inhibitions . 
an older couple dealing with a past " love " of the man , a secret recently uncovered . 
a son dying from aids , joined by his mother at the hospital . 
there are many nuances to this picture , and many ideas and quotes to which we could all relate , but more importantly , there is diversity . 
diversity of relationships helped me and my gang of friends enjoy this film on many levels . 
some related to the younger couples' issues . 
others with the married . 
there's a little bit of everything for everyone in here . 
and i would bet dollars to donuts that if i were to watch this film again in a year , i would relate myself to yet another predicament . 
just like love itself , this movie is distinct and appreciated by all on many different levels . 
the actors in this film are all also very , very good . 
sean connery is solid as the older man with some issues to resolve , as is gena rowlands , as the aging wife with trepidations . 
jolie comes out of this film a star with a great performance , while philippe is as pretty-boy as ever . 
anderson leaves scully far behind with her wonderful portrayal of a damaged woman trying to re-ignite her love life , opposite a surprisingly admirable performance by former talk-show host , jon stewart . 
even dennis quaid manages to step outside of his overacting shoes in this film , and offers a convincing show of a man lost within his own imagination . 
the only piece of this puzzle which left me somewhat detached , was the part surrounding jay mohr , the man dying from aids , and his mother , ellen burstyn . 
the actors were fine , but somehow , the piece seemed out of place within the realm of everything else . 
the ending of this film was also a little too saccharine for me , but i guess that's just hollywood . 
this film is actually a lot like your friends and neigbors ( 5 . 5/10 ) and happiness ( 4 . 5/10 ) in concept and style , but its complete anthesis in regards to character relatibility and likeness . 
the characters in those films were too unique and inhuman for anyone to care , as opposed to this film , which offers rich and believable characters , living real lives and talking about real issues in today's relationships . 
all in all , this movie offers many interesting characters , talking and living genuine and engaging love lives , wonderful performances by its solid cast , too sweet of an ending , but an enjoyable and rewatchable movie nonetheless . 
little known facts about this film and its stars : according to a story in the london sunday mirror , sean connery asked for only $60 , 000 for his role in this movie , as compared to his usual fee of $14 million , because he liked the script so much . 
on top of that , he convinced his co-stars ( including gena rowlands , gillian anderson , ellen burstyn , et al . ) to do the same . 
this is director/writer willard carroll second real foray into the world of " adult films " . 
before this , he had written and produced many children's movies . 
gillian anderson stands 5'2 . 
angelina jolie's full name is angelina jolie voight . 
she is actor jon voight's daughter . 
she has trained and performed at the lee strasberg theatre institute . 
she divorced actor jonny lee miller of trainspotting ( 8 . 5/10 ) 
fame in 1997 . 
they were married in 1995 . 
actor ryan phillippe's full name is matthew ryan phillippe . 
he stands 5'9 , and spent his childhood in new castle , delaware . 
his acting career started on tv's " one life to live " . 
he portrayed daytime television's first gay teenager . 
jon stewart's full name is jonathan stewart leibowitz . 
this film was originally entitled if they only knew and dancing about architecture . 
watch for movie posters from swingers ( 8 . 5/10 ) , 
chasing amy ( 7/10 ) and the texas chainsaw massacre ( 8/10 ) at the movie theatre where the characters of joan and keenan go on their first date .