PIECE OF WORK

Suburban mom trades the jungle gym for the urban jungle.

In her prior life as a publicist, Julia Einstein kept the company of A-list celebrities. For the past three years, she’s been playing house in the New York suburbs. She’s a devoted mother who spends her days whipping up macaroni and cheese and organizing play dates. This predictable and sweet existence changes when Julia’s husband, Peter, is sacked from his job. When the severance pay dries up, Julia reluctantly takes a job with a second-rate publicity firm shepherding the comeback of Mary Ford, a surly has-been. Once a marquee name, actress Mary Ford is now 70 years old and starving for attention. Mary’s latest stab at stardom involves launching “Legend,” a dreadful perfume. If Julia can manage to drum up interest in Mary and this new fragrance, she’ll get her career back on track and keep her family solvent. In a classic story of role reversal (think Mr. Mom), Julia is forced to don stockings and heels and resume her career, while Peter tends to the household matters. As Julia experiences a rocky transition into the working world, things are equally confusing at home. Julia feels like she’s been replaced—Peter’s a better mom than she ever was. A model of efficiency, Peter takes a shine to gourmet cooking and household management. Jealous of his abilities, Julia feels completely isolated. Zigman (Her, 2002, etc.) knows how to develop a plot, but her heroine never becomes sympathetic. Generally disgruntled, she has too many sharp edges: Her relationships are brittle and her mundane interactions border on hostile. And it feels like an eternity before she displays any real skill at her job.

A too-familiar story about the plight of working moms that lacks ingenuity and emotion.