SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW (2023)

February 9, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. As consistently as January brings horror films, we can count on February to deliver Romantic Comedies released around Valentine’s Day. Although, these days, even rom-coms tend to arrive carrying the weight of social messaging wrapped in inclusion, with a concerted effort to avoid ruffling feathers and hurting feelings. The husband and wife writing team of Dave Franco and Alison Brie, with Franco directing and Brie in a lead role, have managed to play by the new rules and still deliver a watchable film – albeit one that I found more sad than comedic.

Ally (Alison Brie, THE POST, “Mad Men”) is a showrunner/producer of a dessert-centric reality TV show. Season three has just wrapped, and Ally has been informed her show will not be renewed. As with any career-minded person, Ally is devastated and heads home to visit her mother and clear her head. The hometown she left a decade ago to chase her dream of being a documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles is the ‘always Christmas’ town of Leavenworth in Washington state. An awkward intrusion on her mother (Julie Hagerty) sends Ally to the local bar where she bumps into the former flame she dumped to purse those doc dreams.

Ally and Sean (Jay Ellis, TOP GUN: MAVERICK, 2022) quickly fall into the comfort zone of a long ago relationship, and spend the night frolicking about the town. Sean does refuse the intimate offer from Ally, which leads her to blindly stumble into his engagement weekend the next day. Yep, it’s a detail Sean conveniently forgot to mention during their wild night, and now Ally is face to face with Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons, ANTEBELLUM, 2020) and Sean’s entire family. His mother’s (Olga Merediz) request for Ally to be the wedding videographer is just the opening Ally needs to begin her battle plan of stopping the wedding.

It’s at this point where we can’t help but think of MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING (1997), and the writers take this head-on with a mention. We can’t tell if Ally thinks she can win back Sean or if she is merely taking out her frustrations in recognizing what she turned down years ago when she chose career of Sean. The tone begins to shift when Ally sees Cassidy performing with her punk rock band, and as the two women talk to each other, it becomes clear that Ally views Cassidy as a younger version of herself. Cassidy even discloses that her bisexuality caused the estrangement with her closed-minded parents. So how does one undermine the wedding of another who isn’t so bad after all?

Also involved are Ally’s old best friend Benny (Brie’s “Community” co-star Danny Pudi), who injects some humor and tries to prevent her meddling, and Sean’s stepbrother played by Haley Joel Osment, who tosses out a Brendan Fraser reference … actually kind of funny, especially in comparison to the Jeremy Renner joke that will likely cause mass cringing. Most of the characters are grounded enough that it’s a difference from many rom-coms, but we do get the feeling a few times that much effort was put forth in creating something outside the normal tropes, rather than the typical “aww, how sweet” moments we are usually subjected to in this genre.

Dave Franco is the younger brother of James Franco, and is a frequent actor who previously directed THE RENTAL (2020), one that varies substantially from this one. Alison Brie is best known for her acting roles, but also previously wrote HORSE GIRL (2020) and SPIN ME ROUND (2022). Here, she doesn’t shy away from a character that we initially pull for, yet end up kind of annoyed with. It’s not a typical break-up movie, or sappy romance, or he/she is ‘the one’ story. Instead, it draws on mean girl tendencies, jealousies, and regrets … yet also delivers the message of staying true to one’s self. As a compliment, it can be said that the film cannot be lumped in with our usual Valentine’s Day saccharine.

Opens in theaters on February 10, 2023

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

MARRIAGE STORY (2019)

December 6, 2019

 Greetings again from the darkness. Nicole has already made her decision. The film opens with her and husband Charlie in a therapy session. They are listing traits they admire about the other person. Watching this, we are unsure if the therapist thinks this exercise might salvage a broken marriage, or if it’s some cruel way of highlighting what is being lost. This is writer-director Noah Baumbach’s most gut-wrenching film to date, and it’s based, at least partially, on his split from wife Jennifer Jason Leigh. Writing about personal experience is nothing new for Baumbach, as THE SQUID AND THE WHALE was inspired by his parents’ divorce.

Charlie (Adam Driver) is an up-and-coming theatre director in New York City, and wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) is the company’s lead actor. When Nicole informs Charlie that she wants a divorce, and is headed back home to Los Angeles to be with family and resume her TV acting career, he is stunned. She explains that her dreams and ambitions have been stifled by focusing on his career, and despite her numerous attempts to discuss this, he has never bothered to take her seriously. Oh, and she’s taking their young son Henry (Azhy Robertson) with her.

What follows is a masterclass in writing, acting, directing, editing, and human nature. We watch as Nicole builds the foundation of her new life, while Charlie is staggered – not so much in denial, as disbelief. Their initial course of an amicable split, equitable division of belongings, and shared/split custody of Henry is abruptly altered when Nicole takes counsel from powerhouse LA divorce attorney Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern). Complicating matters is the bi-coastal nature of the divorce and California laws. This forces Charlie to meet with attorney Bert Spitz (a terrific Alan Alda), who may or may not be up to the task – his acumen varying from day to day.

Baumbach allows both sides to play out. These are basically normal, good people in a situation that brings out the worst traits in both. Unsparing pain arises at every turn. One particular argument between Charlie and Nicole is the axis on which the movie turns. It’s a spilling of guts and filled with devastating honesty. The scene is relentless and builds to a breakdown or breakthrough … any description leaves us spent. Just when we don’t believe we can handle any more emotional turmoil, up pops a moment of genuine tenderness that restores our faith – even if it’s only long enough for us to breathe again. There are even some surprisingly funny (dark humor) moments sprinkled throughout, just as there is in life.

Supporting roles are filled beautifully by Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Weaver and Wallace Shawn. As Henry, Azhy Robertson avoids the “cute-kid” syndrome and delivers an actual nuanced performance by a child actor. Although it seems they are both everywhere these days, Ms. Johansson and Mr. Driver are truly outstanding in their roles here. Scarlet perfectly captures a woman moving on, while Adam singing Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive” at the bar in front of his theatre company is one of the most poignant on screen moments of the year.

There have been some amazing movies about marriage/divorce over the years. Bergman’s SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1974), Benton’s KRAMER VS KRAMER (1979), and Farhadi’s A SEPARATION (2011) come to mind. Baumbach’s latest belongs in that group. Even the “best” divorces – those where both sides end up better off – are a “loss” for both parties. At a minimum, it’s a loss of a once-in-time vision of life partnership. The division of assets is a cold term for the shredding of emotions. We are fine with whatever the adults decide as long as the priority for both is their young son who shouldn’t pay the price for their debacle … but certainly will, just as countless other children have. I’m only now able to write about this film after seeing it at the inaugural North Texas Film Festival (NTXFF). As a movie lover, I’m in awe of the acting and storytelling. As a human being, it temporarily destroyed me.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson