A Man of a Certain Age

I'd been craving some adult romance.

And since adult romantic comedies don't come down the pike nearly often enough, I was all about seeing "Enough Said" at the Criterion tonight.

I'd not only never seen anything by the director, Nicole Holocener, but I hadn't seen James Gandolfini in anything since the '90s.

The story of two middle-aged, lonely people (Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who meet at a party and start dating was pithy, poignant and full of realistic details that any person who's been dating at this age knows well.

Instead of zinging one-liners at each other on their first dinner date, they talk, really talk, and relate as people of a certain age.

"Our middle-agedness is comforting and sexy," Eva tells Albert and I knew exactly what she meant.

Gandolfini blew me away from the first time he appears in the movie, bearded and big but utterly charming and with obvious depth and wit.

The ideal man, in other words.

As they continue seeing each other, learning the quirks of another fully-formed adult, both are struck by how comfortable they feel together.

There's a lot to be said for comfort, especially when it comes with someone who's not only a good kisser, but funny, as Eva soon realizes.

Albert's totally believable deadpan humor, whether telling her he weaves in the garage ("Really?" she asks incredulously. "No, do I look like I weave?" he laughs) or that he finally got night stands for his bedroom (he hadn't) sounds like just the kind of smart-ass humor a thinking woman would appreciate.

It was a treat to watch two middle-aged people as their relationship unfolds and Gandolfini came across as hopelessly romantic at heart and not afraid to show it.

Sitting in bed, talking, he looks at her and says, "I kind of adore you already."

Be still my middle-aged heart.

Could there be a more wonderful thing to hear as you take the plunge into the uncertainty of mid-life romance?

Just to make sure I was no more than a puddle in my deluxe movie seat by the end, the movie finishes with an Eels song.

I like your toothy smile
It never fails to beguile
Whichever way the wind is blowing
I like the way this is going

I like the color of your hair
I think we make a handsome pair
I can only see my love growing
I like the way this is going

I don't care about the past
None of it was made to last
It's not who you've known
But who you're knowing

I like the way this is going

No surprise, I kind of adore that kind of romance.