The first review for Love and Other Impossible Pursuits is out and it doesn’t make pretty reading. The full review can be found over here, but beware spoilers. The excerpt below is a lot safer.

Part of the problem is that like Roos’ grating romantic drama “Bounce,” “Impossible” suffers from trying to have too much of a glossy, commercial sheen on the proceedings. His underrated “Happy Endings” allowed him to rebound from “Bounce” because it was precisely less stereotypically Hollywood. The filmmaker clearly wants to be serious but have his cake and eat it to by incorporating the writer’s trademark snarky one-liners. It completely disrupts the tone and turns too many of the characters, such as Charlie’s mother Carolyne (played by Lisa “I’ve done this bitchy role way too many times before” Kudrow) into caricatures. Portman was obviously intrigued by the dramatic arc of her character — she’s an executive producer on the project — but everyone involved failed to realize how difficult it would be for any actress to pull it off. Even someone as talented as Portman.

It’s hard to imagine mini-major such as Fox Searchlight, Miramax or Focus acquiring “Impossible,” but the independent production may get a deal with a Magnolia or IFC willing to use Portman’s star power on a VOD deal.