The Pretty One (2013)

A shy, withdrawn woman (Zoe Kazan) secretly assumes the identity of her glamorous twin sister after the latter dies in a car accident.-WWW

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Written and directed by Jenée LaMarque, THE PRETTY ONE is a coming of age comedy about identity and loss and a wallflower who finally learns how to break out of her shell. In a balancing act of a performance, Zoe Kazan portrays twins Laurel and Audrey, most poignantly as a relationship blooms with her new neighbor (Jake Johnson). As Laurel begins to slip into the life she has always wanted but never thought was possible, she must decide between continuing her life as Audrey and revealing herself as the perfect fraud. (c) DADA Films

Rating:	R (for language and some sexual content)
Genre:	Drama, Comedy
Directed By:	Jenée LaMarque
Written By:	Jenée LaMarque
In Theaters:	Feb 7, 2014 Limited
On DVD:	Jun 3, 2014
US Box Office:	$11.2k
Runtime:	1 hr. 30 min.

Dada Films - Official Site

THE PRETTY ONE is another of those that I've seen by accident.  I think I had too much coffee to drink and add to that the brisk tea prepared by my baby sis, that I could not sleep.  Normally, that's a good thing when creative juices are flowing, but I had a heavy day and I was quite disturbed because I was not able to stand up for friend, that I couldn't even work.  I just finished watching THE PRESTIGE for the nth time.  I love the film, but somehow, like INCEPTION and other Christopher Nolan films, I'd rather stay "in awe" than write about them.  Well, I did write about INTERSTELLAR and THE MAN OF STEEL, so maybe I'd write about the other Nolan films(written or directed) in the future.
  

The opening credits were being shown, but for some reason I was distracted that I didn't see that Jenée LaMarque was the one who wrote and directed this movie.  I had the silly notion that it was written by Zoe Kazan.  When my mom was saying that Zoe's character(she only saw the part after the twin died) was weird.  I told her, "That's Zoe Kazan, Elia Kazan's granddaughter and she's the one who wrote the screenplay!"  I was so embarrassed when the movie was over to find out that it was written by Jenée LaMarque.

Zoe Kazan has a certain charm.  She plays plain looking and gorgeous girls so well and in case of this film, she plays them both, as identical twins even!

At first, if you haven't watched any of her films and just saw her across the street or something, you would never imagine her playing such roles.  She looks so sweet and innocent, but her characters are far from that.  At least the ones she played starting from her 20s(she's a young looking 31-year-old lady).

This movie is about smoke and mirrors.  She didn't really intended it at first.  After the accident, she couldn't remember anything much, then she kept pretending so that she could listen to the eulogies people would give her, most especially her father.  When her father wouldn't, rather couldn't, say anything, she was deeply crushed that she thought it best to assume her twin's identity.  She was battling with a whirlwind of emotions, for she was also grieving her twin's death,

What do I think about the twins' lovers?  Physically, at least as Basel, I wouldn't choose Jake Johnson over Ron Livingston, but once I got to know Basel, I knew he was the one.  I actually had an idea the first time they met, but...

Anyways, watching THE PRETTY ONE, was a happy accident, at least for me.  

• Zoe Kazan as Laurel & Audrey
• Jake Johnson as Basel  (Laurel's object of affection)
• Ron Livingston as Charles  (Audrey's lover)
• Sterling Beaumon as Hunter (Laurel's lover)
• John Carroll Lynch as Frank (The twins' dad)
• Danny Pudi as Dr. Rao
• Jeremy Howard as James
• Frankie Shaw as Claudia (Audrey's best friend)
• Sabrina Lloyd as Edith (Charles' wife)
• Dale Raoul as Mrs. Shoemacher
• Shae D'Lyn as May (Frank's girlfriend)
• Bronwyn Cornelius as Perfect mom
• Devan Leos as Funeral Boy
• Luka Jones as Patrick
• Mark Kelly as Ralph

Review from rogerebert.com by Christy Lemire