What a waste! Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, and Walter Matthau --- each a major talent --- are simply irritating in Hanging Up, the film version of Delia Ephron's 1995 novel. Billed as "an exploration of family at its best, worst, and funniest," this frenetic movie lacks any saving grace.

Whose fault is it? There’s plenty to go around.  First, Ephron’s sister Nora (You’ve Got Mail) helped her with the scatterbrained screenplay adaptation. It’s easy to imagine these two siblings having a great time working together on a story based on their own family relationships. Unfortunately, it doesn’t deserve a cinematic treatment --- at least not this one.

Next, Diane Keaton (The First Wives Club) directed as well as co-starred. Could these two jobs be too much for her?  Maybe so. She’s never done both together before. And, her only other stint as a director was for Unstrung Heroes, a little-seen 1995 film.

Finally, there are the performers themselves. Ryan, Keaton, and Kudrow play three sisters facing the imminent death of their curmudgeonly father (Matthau). Portraying the most caring daughter, Ryan does something her fans thought impossible. She screeches on the phone and runs into things so many times she actually becomes boring!  Kudrow (Friends), who continuously whines about being the neglected youngest sister, gets fewer laughs than Jerry Lewis at his Aspen press conference. Keaton (too busy with directing chores?) seems unconvincing as the oldest sister, a famous high-powered magazine executive. And Matthau (Grumpy Old Men) comes across sadly as a caricature of his previous similar roles.

Almost half the annoying dialogue in Hanging Up takes place on the telephone. After sitting through this unpleasant movie, one can’t help questioning the genius of Alexander Graham Bell.              

(Released by Columbia Pictures and rated “PG-13” for sex-related material and strong language.)