The Private Lives of Pippa Lee poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Robin Wright, Blake Lively, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves, Maria Bello ... see more see more... , Zoe Kazan , Winona Ryder , Mike Binder , Monica Bellucci , Ryan McDonald , Julianne Moore , Shirley Knight , Tim Guinee , Robin Weigert

Rebecca Miller (The Ballad of Jack & Rose) adapts her own novel with this comedy drama about a woman who begins a second life after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Pippa Lee (Robin Wright)... read more read more... is the loving mother of two grown children, and the wife of successful publisher Herb (Alan Arkin). Despite the fact that she's 30 years Herb's junior, Pippa and her husband have never fallen short on things to talk about. She's always enjoyed the hustle and bustle of New York, but after Herb suffers a serious heart attack, Pippa dutifully moves with him to a quaint suburban home in small-town Connecticut. And for a while, at least, she coasts -- enjoying frequent dinner parties with her new friends Sam (Mike Binder) and Sandra (Winona Ryder), and spending quiet nights caring for Herb, who has lately grown increasingly distant. That all starts to change when Chris (Keanu Reeves) comes back to town following a bitter divorce. Gradually, Pippa's suppressed resentments begin bubbling to the surface, highlighting the conflict between the free-spirited girl she used to be and the frustrated woman who has taken her place. Somewhere along the line, Pippa lost track of her own identity. But Pippa's remarkable journey of self-discovery is just beginning. Julianne Moore, Monica Bellucci, Maria Bello, and Blake Lively co-star in a Plan B Entertainment production. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

49% liked it

17,070 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

73 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Rebecca Miller

Release Date: November 27, 2009

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: March 2, 2010

Get It:

Stats: 661 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Zoe Kazan Monica Bellucci The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Blake Lively & Adam Shonkwiler Zoe Kazan Julianne Moore is the photographer The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Blake Lively as young Pippa Blake Lively as young Pippa Robin Wright Penn & Keanu Reeves The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
Upload a Photo | View All The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (661)

  • romy861
    January 22, 2012
    romy861
    Very good movie which, I have to admit, I sat there bored through for the first 40 minutes. It was only when it got to the scene with the first wife that I started to understand the events that had shaped this dull-on-the- surface married woman.
    Blake Lively is excellent as the ... read moreyounger Pippa, as is Robin Wright as the older one.
    I really wished I had paid more attention by the end, I think this one deserves a rewatch and is the kind of movie that will grow on you as you find yourself thinking of it the next day. Subtle, but beautifully done.
  • deano
    October 26, 2010
    deano
    The Private Lives of Pippa Lee works as an involving high-end soap, the strong performances, writing and fractured chronology easing us past the more melodramatic twists.
    Robin Wright performs naturally and makes her character hold more depth and presence then was imagina... read moreble. And Blake Lively performs her part so beautifully.
    Believe me about Winona Ryder's character does remind me and looked familiar to her 1999's Girl, Interrupted character role - so impressive!
  • dreamfaeries
    September 23, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Loved the process... very interesting storyline and great acting from everyone.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    June 24, 2010
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    It was kinda good not a great movie but made it worth the while. What most interested me was how it was gonna end been such a unknown movie for me. Acting was decent from everyone except Robin Wright, she really took it up a notch and delivered big time on her role as Pippa Lee. ... read more

    The film stars Robin Wright Penn, as Pippa Lee, and Allan Arkin as her husband Herb Lee.

    The plot revolves around Pippas emotional issues that lead her toward an affair with Chris Nadeau (Keanu Reeves). Herb has also grown tired of the relationship, and is having heart problems.

    In an interesting twist the plot flashes back to a younger Pippa played by Blake Lively, that gets spanked by a dominatrix named Kit (Julianne Moore). Pippa is involved in lesbian bondage films before having a torrid love affair with Herb, who helps her to get her life together.

    There is also a rather dramatic scene where Gigi Lee (Monica Bellucci) points a gun at Pippa, and then ends up committing suicide. The scene is somewhat similar to the gun scene in Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona where Penelope Cruz goes into a violent rage.

    Pippa Lee features outstanding performances by Robin Wright Penn, Allan Arkin, and Blake Lively. The film is well written and directed by Rebecca Miller.

    Pippa Lee is a really good indie film that most Robin Wright Penn, and Blake Lively fans will enjoy.
  • LWOODS04
    January 4, 2010
    LWOODS04
    ROBIN WRIGHT PENN, ALAN ARKIN, BLAKE LIVELY, MARIA BELLO, KEANU REEVES, WINONA RYDER, JULIANNE MOORE, MIKE BINDER

    At fifty, Pippa Lee positively glows with female serenity, the devoted wife of a brilliant publisher thirty years her senior, proud mother of successful twins and ... read morea lovely and adored friend and neighbor. But, when her husband spontaneously decides that they should leave New York for a retirement home as a "pre-emptive strike against decrepitude," and has an affair with someone even younger than she is, Pippa finds her beatific persona unraveling in alarming ways. The truth is, the gracious woman of the present day has seen more than her fair share of the wild side. She has finally found love and security in a family of her own. And now, that cozy world, too, is in danger.
    What a great, well acted, and well done movie. I was intrigued with the story, and all of it's character's. Robin Wright Penn, was absolutely fantastic in this film. I was also impressed with Blake Lively. She was really good at portraying the younger self of 'Pippa Lee'. The movie is a roller coaster of emotions. It has you laughing, crying, and feeling extremely as mixed up as the main character. It brought me in and made me feel for the characters. Just one of the better films I have seen. Loved Maria Bello, in this. Thought she was amazing. Winona Ryder, was great as a very disturbed, depressed individual. It's like, I wanted to feel bad for her, but it was more comical for me then sad. Keanu Reeves, really gives a good performance too, which I haven't seen from him in a long while. Julianne Moore was awesome. Nice to see her doing something very different even if she's in the film for a short period of a time. I don't need to say how good and fabulous Alan Arkin, was. It is a given. He is always brilliant. Best performance since 'Little Miss Sunshine'. The movie has a strong female presence, but I think it's a great watch for all. Thought the balance between the past and the present was done smart. But that is what it ends up being, a smart movie. Definitely recommend it.
  • jennifxu
    December 15, 2009
    jennifxu
    Ok, so this movie...it's way too nervy and unsettling for me. It's a neurotic without a reasoning behind it, and while some moments are pretty funny, and I never get tired of looking of Blake Lively's face, it's all so surface level to me. I kind of get what Rebec Miller is sayin... read moreg but just barely. Go learn some more lessons from your daddy, honey.
  • gor41
    November 7, 2009
    gor41
    Showcase for mature female actors who must have leapt at the chance of the prime roles on offer here. Undoubtedly the role of Penn's distinguished career, she rises to the challenge of portraying a multilayered fully formed person with all the inconsistencies and peculiarities t... read morehat entails. Even Reeves is on form, as is often the case when he isn't center stage. Don't overlook this sleeper hit.
  • fb1144932598
    March 13, 2010
    fb1144932598
    A fully engaging, thoughtful, character-driven tale of one woman's tumultuous life. The acting by Robin Wright Penn, as the grown-up Pippa, and Keanu Reeves, as the neighbor, Chris Nadeau, along with the rest of the cast, were exceptional. Blake Lively played the younger Pippa an... read mored brought a sweetness, and ethereal quality to the role. Zoe Kazan was not on screen for long, but she made her presence felt as Pippa's troubled daughter making her way as a photojournalist. Maria Bello nailed the bi-polar Suki Sarkasian, Pippa's mom, whose illness was accentuated by her abuse of drugs. The story investigates the generational divide in a way that was raw and very real. The relationship between Pippa and her mother, and then between Pippa and her daughter, exposed emotions in all four of the actresses that resonated with authenticity. The real surprise here was Reeves. Gone, was the slacker that he seems to have played ad infinitum. He brought complexity and a real rough edge to his role that indicates that just maybe he has grown up. This was a slice of reality. No sugar coating. No bland platitudes. Just raw, genuine pain and messy lives exposed to the world.
  • gator681
    December 13, 2009
    gator681
    "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" is a thoughtful, yet insubstantial, character study that stretches its sleepwalking metaphor much too thin. Like its title character whose best moments come in surprisingly frank outbursts, the movie fails to live up to its potential, even with a... read more very good cast.(And I can think of no better description of Keanu Reeves than "half baked.") The movie starts shortly after Pippa(Robin Wright Penn) moves to a retirement community in Connecticut after her older husband Herb(Alan Akin), a publisher, has suffered a series of serious heart attacks. That made me wonder since I thought most people would head to warmer climes for their retirement if they could but Pippa who selflessly takes care of everything at least unconsciously moved back to near where she grew up as part of a large family with a pill popping mother(Maria Bello). So, with much more free time on her hands than she normally would, with two grown children out of her hair, Pippa has started to rethink her life up to this point which on the surface might be a traditional path of first being cared for, then having children of her own and finally taking care of somebody in their old age. The difference in a Freudian twist is that it is a husband, not a father, she is caring for. So, in all of her life, she never had the time to truly discover herself until now.
  • SC007
    October 10, 2010
    SC007
    The performances are the only reason to check out this film. It needed a rewrite. It kind of reminded me of the film, The Hours. I didn't like the style of this film. The film is well casted and everyone delivers.

View All The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Reviews

Critic Reviews

Ian Buckwalter
July 4, 2010
Ian Buckwalter, NPR

As a woman under the influence of everyone but herself, Pippa often feels lost when she's on her own - a blank slate with no one holding a chalk - Robin Wright Penn allows us to get to know a characte... Full Review

Colin Covert
January 21, 2010
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The movie has the busy-aimless feeling of a cocktail party rather than a rigorously constructed drama. Interesting people drift through, anecdotes are shared, attention shifts here and there, and abru... Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
January 15, 2010
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

A superb performance by Robin Wright Penn illuminates Rebecca Miller's intelligent and revealing look at the inner wild child beneath a 50-ish Connecticut matron. Full Review

Liam Lacey
December 4, 2009
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Awkward in ways both intended and not. Full Review

Peter Rainer
December 4, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

By turns antic, frantic, and dull, Pippa Lee is unconvincing -- emotionally, dramatically, filmically. Full Review

Linda Barnard
December 4, 2009
Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

Miller has created a witty satire about society and relationships that is both funny and heartbreaking, delivered by a first-rate cast. Full Review

Michael Phillips
November 30, 2009
Michael Phillips, At the Movies

I think there's something going on here that does feel novelistic, but it feels to me a little like real life. I think Penn makes it worth seeing. Full Review

A.O. Scott
November 30, 2009
A.O. Scott, At the Movies

I was interested in the characters and situations, but I was not absorbed. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
November 29, 2009
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Miller never really fleshes out all of these colorful characters in her emotionally facile script, leaving the heavy lifting to the actors. Fortunately for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Wright is mo... Full Review

Mary F. Pols
November 29, 2009
Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine

Pippa should be a career changer. Wright Penn's cards are finally on the table, and it looks like a full house. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Sorcerer's Apprentice
    The Sorcerer's Apprentice (33%)

More Movies like The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

The Private Lives... : Watch Free on TV

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Trivia

  • Who was not in the cast of The Private Lives of Pippa Lee?  Answer »
  • The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Street Kings, The Gift, Dracula all have one actor in common. Which one?   Answer »
More The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Want to create one?

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add The Private Lives of Pippa Lee to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View The Private Lives of Pippa Lee News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?