The loopy contrivance of this plot is exacerbated by the broadness with which Streisand directs Richard LaGravenese's script. The slapstick manner collides queasily with the therapeutic tone.

[Barbara] Streisand's direction is solid, save for a needless run-on ending over the final credits, and cinematographers Dante Spinotti and Andrzej Bartkowiak make New York City sparkle.

This is a moving and challenging movie, fascinated by the murky depths that separate what people want from what they say they want and what they think they should want.

Streisand fans will like it. But her unwillingness to look bedraggled undermines the drama of the movie.