Easier with Practice

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title: "Easier with Practice" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2009-films", "2009-directorial-debut-films", "2009-drama-films", "2009-independent-films", "2009-american-films", "2000s-drama-road-movies", "2000s-english-language-films", "american-drama-road-movies", "american-independent-films", "films-about-telephony", "films-about-writers", "films-based-on-newspaper-and-magazine-articles", "films-directed-by-kyle-patrick-alvarez", "films-set-in-motels", "films-set-in-new-mexico", "films-shot-in-new-mexico", "english-language-independent-films"] description: "2009 film by Kyle Patrick Alvarez" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easier_with_Practice" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 2009 film by Kyle Patrick Alvarez ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	Easier with Practice
alt
image	Easier with Practice FilmPoster.jpeg
caption	Theatrical release poster
director	Kyle Patrick Alvarez
screenplay	Kyle Patrick Alvarez
based_on
producer	{{Plainlist
starring	{{Plainlist
cinematography	David Rush Morrison
editing	Fernando Collins
studio	Forty Second Productions
distributor	Lantern Lane Entertainment
released
runtime	100 minutes
country	United States
language	English
::

| name = Easier with Practice | alt = | image = Easier with Practice FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Kyle Patrick Alvarez | screenplay = Kyle Patrick Alvarez | based_on = | producer = {{Plainlist|

• Cookie Carosella
• David Melito | starring = {{Plainlist|
• Brian Geraghty
• Kel O'Neill
• Marguerite Moreau
• Jeanette Brox
• Jenna Gavigan | cinematography = David Rush Morrison | editing = Fernando Collins | music = | studio = Forty Second Productions | distributor = Lantern Lane Entertainment | released = | runtime = 100 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = Easier with Practice is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez. It stars Brian Geraghty, Kel O'Neill, Marguerite Moreau, Jeanette Brox, and Jenna Gavigan. The story is based on the 2006 GQ article "What Are You Wearing?" by Davy Rothbart.

The film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and won the Someone to Watch Award for Alvarez.

Plot

Davy Mitchell is an introverted writer struggling on tour to promote his unpublished short stories. His lonely nights heat up when Davy receives a seemingly random phone call from a woman named Nicole. The sultry stranger seduces him into an intense session of phone sex, sparking an erotic and intimate relationship that is based entirely around the phone calls that she initiates. Davy wants to make it work, but he becomes frustrated when she refuses to give out her number. Fed up with her games, he determines to meet Nicole in person. That is, if she ever calls again.

Cast

• Brian Geraghty as Davy Mitchell
• Kel O'Neill as Sean Mitchell
• Marguerite Moreau as Samantha
• Jeanette Brox as Sarah
• Jenna Gavigan as Josie
• Katie Aselton as Nicole

Production

Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez was inspired by Davy Rothbart's autobiographical article "What Are You Wearing?" in the August 2006 issue of GQ magazine.

The film was produced by Forty Second Productions with a Red One camera system. Principal photography began in April 2008 and concluded on June 10 of that year, after 20 days of filming. Filming took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, primarily in a motel.

Release

Easier with Practice had its world premiere at the CineVegas film festival, where it won the 2009 Grand Jury Prize. Its international premiere was at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it garnered Best New International Feature. The film was released theatrically in New York City and Los Angeles on February 26, 2010, by Lantern Lane Entertainment. It was also distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media.

The film was rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America. Though the film does not feature any nudity, the rating was supposedly given for the graphic sexual dialogue.

Home media

The film was released on DVD by Breaking Glass Pictures on April 6, 2010.

Reception

On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Easier with Practice holds an approval rating of 88% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This promising debut from writer-director Kyle Patrick Alvarez is anchored by a startlingly honest and tender performance from Brian Geraghty that helps make Easier with Practice more than just another road trip drama."

Justin Chang of Variety called it "a quietly provocative love story about emotionally stunted manhood and the risks some guys will take to connect." Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club wrote, "Love stories don't come much squirmier than this one, and Alvarez plays it with honesty, insight, and the awkwardness inherent in this blindest of blind dates." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said, "The film is a slow-burner: a study in loneliness and alienation, whose unexpected ending and ambiguous aftermath require us to reassess all that has gone before."

Awards

• 2010 Independent Spirit Awards
  • Best First Feature – nominated
  • Someone to Watch Award – Kyle Patrick Alvarez, winner
• 2009 CineVegas International Film Festival – Grand Jury Award, winner
• 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival – Best New International Feature, winner
• 2009 Memphis Indie Film Festival – Special Jury Prize, winner

References

References

1. "Easier with Practice". [[Mongrel Media]].
2. Soares, Andre. (October 29, 2009). "AFI FEST 2009: Phone Sex Gets Easier with Practice".
3. Soares, Andre. (February 24, 2010). "Easier with Practice: Q&A with Kyle Patrick Alvarez".
4. Tobias, Scott. (2010-02-25). "Easier With Practice".
5. Rothbart, Davy. (August 2006). "What Are You Wearing?".
6. (2009-06-16). "Easier With Practice — Film Review".
7. (June 10, 2008). "Forty second productions wraps production on 'Easier With Practice'".
8. (November 2, 2010). "Toolkit Case Study: Director/Writer Kyle Alvarez & the Road to Making "Easier With Practice"".
9. Olsen, Mark. (February 28, 2010). "Kyle Patrick Alvarez's 'Easier With Practice' finds its way to screens". [[Los Angeles Times]].
10. Dargis, Manohla. (February 25, 2010). "On the Phone, Alienated and Indulging". [[The New York Times]].
11. Bell, Robert. (March 27, 2010). "Easier with Practice Kyle Patrick Alvarez".
12. Quinn, Courtney. (2010-03-01). "LAist Interview: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Easier With Practice".
13. "Easier with Practice (2010) – Financial Information".
14. "Easier with Practice".
15. Chang, Justin. (2009-06-14). "Easier With Practice".
16. Bradshaw, Peter. (2010-12-02). "Easier With Practice – review". [[The Guardian]].
17. Finke, Nikki. (2009-12-01). "2010 Indie Film Spirit Award Nominations".
18. McNary, Dave. (2010-03-06). "A 'Precious' night at Indie Spirit Awards".

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