TIFF 2013: Posthumous James Gandolfini Pic ‘Enough Said’ Debuts to Applause & Sniffles

As the end credits rolled to a full house at Toronto’s ornate Elgin Theater the simple phrase "To Jim" spurred on the applause – and the sound, too, of sniffles.

The world premiere of Nicole Holofcener’s midlife romantic comedy, "Enough Said," showed the potential of James Gandolfini’s post-"Sopranos" career in the unlikely role of a romantic leading man. Certainly, jokes cracked about his character Albert’s waistline on camera carried extra weight given his premature death last June at 51.

[Related: In Memoriam: Dearly Departed Stars Who Will Be Remembered at TIFF 2013]

In the caustic romantic comedy "Enough Said," Gandolfini stars as Albert, a divorced father of a college-bound daughter. He slowly begins an affair with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Eva, a single mom on the verge of an empty nest. The two court and spark, and with Gandolfini’s deadpan delivery and Louis-Dreyfus’s great comic reactions, the pair deliver a rueful comedy of what it’s like falling in love the second time around.

As the lights came up after the matinee, the filmmakers appeared in force to support the film, including the director, Louis-Dreyfus, Toni Collette, and Catherine Keener, a Holofcener regular (“Friends with Money,” “Lovely and Amazing”).

[Related: Beyond 'Sopranos': James Gandolfini's Most Memorable Movie Roles]

During the Q&A session, an audience member asked Louis-Dreyfus her fondest memory of working with Gandolfini. She immediately answered: “I have an endless number of fond memories. Watching this right now, the last scene was very joyful,” she said about the couple’s understated reconciliation while sitting side-by-side on Albert’s porch. “When we felt we nailed it, we fell into each others’ arms.”

See James Gadolfini in the "Enough Said" theatrical trailer: