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{{Infobox film
| name           = Ira & Abby
| image          = Iraandabby.jpg
| caption        =
| director       = Robert Cary
| producer       = Brad Zions
| writer         = [[Jennifer Westfeldt]]
| narrator       =
| starring       = [[Chris Messina]]<br>Jennifer Westfeldt<br>[[Maddie Corman]]<br>[[Fred Willard]]<br>[[Frances Conroy]]<br>[[Jason Alexander]]<br>[[Robert Klein]]<br>[[Judith Light]]
| music          = [[Marcelo Zarvos]]
| cinematography = Harlan Bosmajian
| editing        = [[Phillip J. Bartell]]
| distributor    = [[Magnolia Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|2006|6|23|[[Los Angeles Film Festival]]|2007|9|14|United States}}
| runtime        = 104 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         =
| gross          =
}}
'''''Ira & Abby''''' is a 2006 American [[romantic comedy]] film directed by Robert Cary and written by [[Jennifer Westfeldt]]. The film stars [[Chris Messina]] and Westfeldt in the title roles, and co-stars [[Fred Willard]], [[Frances Conroy]], [[Jason Alexander]], [[Robert Klein]], and [[Judith Light]].
The film premiered at the [[LA Film Festival|Los Angeles Film Festival]] on June 23, 2006.<ref>{{cite news |title=LA FILM FEST ’06: "Ira," "Abby," and "Mario" Win in Audience Prizes; Fest Salutes "Sunshine" and "Qu |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2006/07/la-film-fest-06-ira-abby-and-mario-win-in-audience-prizes-fest-salutes-sunshine-and-qu-76486/ |access-date=5 April 2023 |work=[[IndieWire]] |date=July 3, 2006}}</ref> It was acquired by [[Magnolia Pictures]], who released it theatrically on September 14, 2007.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zeitchik |first1=Steven |title=Magnolia buys 'Ira & Abby' |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/magnolia-buys-ira-abby-1117964804/ |access-date=5 April 2023 |work=Variety |date=May 11, 2007}}</ref>
==Plot==
Ira Black is a 33-year-old [[psychology]] Ph.D. candidate with [[therapist]] parents. He has been in an on-and-off relationship with Lea for the past nine years and is unsatisfied with their relationship on many levels. His therapist informs him that their 12 years of doctor-patient relationship must come to a close as therapy clearly is not helping him. The therapist encourages Black to be spontaneous, finish his [[dissertation]], and do things he would not normally do.
Ira goes to his favorite cafe and struggles to order. As he eats, he looks across the street to see a gym and remembers that Lea once found him [[overweight]]. After his meal, he goes to the gym and makes an appointment for a tour. He waits 45 minutes before Abby, a free-spirited gym-membership saleswoman, arrives to show him around.
Ira is soon struck by Abby's ability to be involved in other people's lives. She seems to know everyone at the gym and be a trusted source of advice and a good listening ear. After Abby gives Ira a tour of the gym, they spend the next six hours talking in an unused [[yoga]] room. Ira discovers that Abby lives with her parents who are musicians. At the end of their conversation, she proposes marriage to Ira, who is initially shocked. Eventually he agrees and the two consummate their engagement in her office.
Both Ira and Abby return home to tell their parents of their engagement. Ira's parents are upset that it's not Leah, and Abby's are extremely excited and begin to plan their daughter's wedding right away. Later that night, Ira and Abby talk about their future and make an agreement to have sex every day.
The two marry and spend the evening together at Abby's family's house. When they attempt to return to Ira's apartment to enjoy their [[wedding night]], the car they hired breaks down, leading them to get mugged at gunpoint, though they are unharmed.
Over the next weeks, Ira and Abby adjust to being married and enjoy shopping for their apartment. They attend the movies and awkwardly run into Leah, which brings Ira's worries about Abby to the front of his mind. The two begin marriage [[counseling]]. At the same time, Ira's mother and Abby's father begin to have an affair after Ira's mother begins a [[voice-over]] career. When the families take a holiday picture (Abby's family's tradition), Ira learns that Abby was married twice before. Angry that she did not tell him, Ira asks for and gets an annulment. After returning to Dr. Friedman (his old therapist) and realizing how much he loves Abby, Ira proposes again, and the two remarry.
After the second wedding, with the two ex-husbands in attendance, things seem to get better. One day, Abby meets Leah at the gym, and Leah confides in her that she misses her ex. Not realizing that she is talking about Ira, Abby offers her advice; that she should get in contact with him for closure. Not long after that, Abby goes to dinner with one of her ex-husbands. Ira is extremely worried, so he takes Leah up on her offer for drinks. The two go to her apartment and kiss. Guilt-racked Ira returns home to find Abby sobbing on their couch, afraid that he was cheating and emotionally rattled from her dinner. The next day, Leah and Abby meet for lunch and discuss their evenings. When Ira walks in to meet Abby, the two women realize that he is the man they are both talking about.
Following this latest escapade, Abby pulls all of the therapists that she, her parents, Ira, and Ira's parents have ever used into one room for a giant session. After a while, Ira and Abby realize that they can put their differences aside and love each other. The film ends with the two of them divorcing and vowing to love each other.
== Cast ==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Chris Messina]] as Ira Black
* [[Jennifer Westfeldt]] as Abby Willoughby
* [[Fred Willard]] as Michael Willoughby
* [[Frances Conroy]] as Lynne Willoughby
* [[Jason Alexander]] as Dr. Morris Saperstein
* [[David Margulies]] as Dr. David Friedman
* [[Robert Klein]] as Seymour Black
* [[Judith Light]] as Arlene Black
* [[Maddie Corman]] as Lea
* [[Darrell Hammond]] as Dr. Rosenblum
* [[Donna Murphy]] as Dr. Goldman
* [[Chris Parnell]] as Dr. Ron Silverberg
* [[Kali Rocha]] as Tracy
* [[Kevin Sussman]] as Lenny
* [[Jon Hamm]] as Ronnie
}}
==Critical reception ==
On review aggregate website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Ira & Abby'' has an approval rating of 69% based on 45 reviews. The site’s critics consensus reads, "''Ira & Abby'' overcomes the somewhat clichéd plot with witty dialogue and earnest performances."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ira & Abby |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ira_and_abby |access-date=April 5, 2023 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>
In a positive review, Jeannette Catsoulis of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "Though playing at times like an extended sitcom, ''Ira & Abby'' radiates a breathless charm, due in no small part to Ms. Westfeldt’s sharp dialogue and engagingly unmannered performance."<ref name=NYT>{{Cite news |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |date=September 14, 2007 |title=Out of His Navel and Into a Life |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/movies/14abby.html |access-date= |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Catsoulis also praised the film’s supporting cast and commented the film is "a breezy riff on monogamy, trust and how to make love last."<ref name=NYT/>
In ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', [[Wesley Morris]] wrote "the crazy coincidences are unbearably mechanical", but praised Westfeldt’s performance.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/10/12/too_cute_ira__abby_needs_a_little_help/ |title=Too-cute 'Ira & Abby' needs a little help |last=Morris |first=Wesley |date=October 12, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090326053423/http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/10/12/too_cute_ira__abby_needs_a_little_help/ |archive-date=March 26, 2009}}</ref> Christopher Campbell of ''Cinematical'' commented "the movie is cynical about marriage", saying "It is possible the filmmakers intended the dated feel…in order to emphasize the statements that therapy and marriage are impractical fads that never went away; instead they mistakenly became norms."<ref name=Cinematical/> He concluded, "''Ira and Abby'' is far from being an unlikable movie. It has a charming lunacy about it, which allows for much enjoyment, or at least comfortable, familiar, routine easiness (like a marriage)."<ref name="Cinematical">{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Christopher |title=Review: Ira & Abby |url=http://www.cinematical.com/2007/09/14/review-ira-and-abby/ |access-date=5 April 2023 |work=Cinematical |date=September 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326053423/http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2007/10/12/too_cute_ira__abby_needs_a_little_help/ |archive-date=March 26, 2009}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.magpictures.com/profile.aspx?id=574d1ada-07e2-4482-81bb-2d2218132994 Official website]
* {{IMDb title|0480251}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|ira_and_abby}}
* {{AllMovie title|354053}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ira and Abby}}
[[Category:2006 films]]
[[Category:2006 independent films]]
[[Category:2006 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:Films about marriage]]
[[Category:Films about psychiatry]]
[[Category:Films set in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Films scored by Marcelo Zarvos]]
[[Category:Magnolia Pictures films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]