Review: Julie Delpy's Funny, Memorable Comedy 'Lolo'

If not quite a hate-letter to the idea of motherhood, then certainly a strongly-worded memo of complaint, Julie Delpy's sixth directorial feature "Lolo" features long stretches of perhaps her most accomplished and enjoyable character-comedy yet. But as often with filmmakers for whom a certain register comes almost too easily, Delpy seems impatient with herself and her facility for spiky, verbal sparring and pithy self-deprecating put-downs. As though anxious to push beyond that, "Lolo," (co-written with Eugenie Grandval) which starts off bright, breezy, and deceptively progressive –– especially in its portrayal of a fabulously foulmouthed and dirty-minded central female friendship –– moves into more densely plotted and dark-hearted territory in its latter stages. The ambition is admirable, but in execution it means the witty, sophisticate comedy gives way to farce and contrivance, and an unwelcome sourness creeps into the fizz that the winning performances cannot...