GOODRICH: 3 STARS. “tries hard to pull at your heartstrings. A little too hard perhaps.”
SYNOPSIS: Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton) always put work ahead of family. But now, with his once successful gallery is on the verge of collapse and his wife in rehab for ninety days, his self-centeredness must take a back seat to tending to his rocky relationship with pregnant adult daughter Grace (Mila Kunis) and his nine-year-old twins.
CAST: Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis, Andie MacDowell, Carmen Ejogo, Kevin Pollak, Poorna Jagannathan. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer.
REVIEW: The success of “Goodrich” hinges on star Michael Keaton’s ability to milk humor and charm out of human drama. A wee bit sentimental, and more than a bit manipulative, the film is saved from melodrama by Keaton’s sure and steady hand.
The family drama emanates from the title character. During an argument, his grown daughter Grace calls him the “never available, never home, never ask you how are you? Goodrich,” and we see that guy, but we also see who he’s trying to be, and it is that arc that makes him, and the movie, interesting.
Keaton gives the character the cockiness of a man who is used to success, but as that fades, he becomes more appealing, more aware of his failures as a father and a person. He quotes a Buddhist saying about how the measure of a life can be tallied in how much you’ve loved, how gently you’ve lived and how gracefully you let go of things that weren’t meant for you. He botched all three but wants to make amends.
It’s not a new story but Keaton draws us in because he’s willing to change, particularly in the relationship with Grace.
“Goodrich” is a slight movie that tries hard to pull at your heartstrings. A little too hard perhaps, but the scenes between Goodrich and Grace do offer some unexpectedly hard-hitting moments. “I am then only person who loves you as much as you love yourself,” she says and her words land like a slap in the face.
Ultimately, Goodrich discovers that it is the small things in life that matter, and that everything, from a sunrise to the smile on your Grace’s face can be art, not just the artwork he devoted his life to. Simple messages but delivered with the kind of heartfelt conviction and mix of comedy and drama that recalls Keaton’s earlier work in films like “Mr. Mom.”
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