Posts Tagged ‘comedy-drama’

SUZE: 3 ½ STARS. “great chemistry between Watkins and Gillespie.”

“Suze,” a new film featuring “Tiny Beautiful Things” star Michaela Watkins, and now playing in theatres, is an empty nest dramedy about a mother who takes an unusual path to combat the loneliness she feels when her daughter leaves town for university.

After discovering her husband cheating with their golf pro, Suze (Watkins) is once again confronted by abandonment when daughter Brooke (Sara Waisglass) announces she is moving to Montreal to attend McGill University. Although she is assured by a colleague that she’ll find time for herself in her daughter’s absence—“You’re finally free!”—she instead feels alone and adrift. “I am terrified of losing her,” she says.

And she’s not the only one.

Brooke’s heart-broken, Spicoli-wannabe ex-boyfriend Gage (Charles Gillespie), who plays guitar in a band called The Emotional Morons, falls to pieces and lands in the hospital. “It hurts in places I didn’t even know could hurt,” he says.

Gage’s father (Aaron Ashmore) isn’t available to help him recuperate, so Suze reluctantly allows him to stay with her for a couple weeks. “It’s kinda funny Suze,” Gage says, “how we both got left by the same person.”

Over time, they work through their heartbreak, finding strength in other’s company as they really get to know one another.

“Suze” is a never-judge-a-book-by-its-cover story, with a few laughs, some earned heartfelt moments and heaps of compassion. The daughter is a McGuffin, more a plot device to put the odd couple story in motion than anything else. The important and appealing part of the story is the relationship between Suze and Gage, everything else is set dressing.

There is a great chemistry between Watkins and Gillespie.

Suze moves from mistrustful to maternal as Gage’s innocent, natural charm becomes obvious, but Watkins avoids sentimentality in her approach to the burgeoning relationship. She has an edge, born of anger, experience and frustration that can be heartfelt, dramatic or comedic depending on the situation.

Gillespie brings the off-kilter energy of a guy who has been misunderstood his entire life. His performance is a winning mix of guilelessness and charisma, one that easily could have been a caricature but emerges fully formed.

What binds them both is their natural approach to kindness and compassion.

The key to “Suze’s” success is the way it presents a platonic relationship based on mutual respect and how they give one another a reason to embrace the battle scars that formed them, and move ahead toward happiness.

CTV NEWS AT SIX: NEW MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO CHECK OUT THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the superhero flick “Madame Web,” the survival story “Land of Bad” and the sublime “Perfect Days.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

NEWSTALK TONIGHT WITH JIM RICHARDS: DOES RICHARD CROUSE LIKE THESE MOVIES?

I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the the watery “Night Swim,” the poignant “All of Us Strangers” and the melancholy “Good Grief.”

Listen to whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CP24 WEEKEND REVIEWS & VIEWING TIPS! FRIDAY JANUARY 05, 2024.

I  joined CP24 Beakfast to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services.  Today we talk about the watery “Night Swim,” the melancholy Netflix series “Good Grief” and the Apple TV+ show “Slow Horses.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the watery “Night Swim,” the poignant “All of Us Strangers” and the melancholy “Good Grief.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!

Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to strum a guitar! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the watery “Night Swim,” the poignant “All of Us Strangers” and the melancholy “Good Grief.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

GOOD GRIEF: 3 STARS. “a study in the good, the bad and the ugly of relationships.”

The alliteration in the title of “Good Grief,” Dan Levy’s feature film debut for Netflix, extends into the storytelling. Mawkish and moving, romantic and realist, it’s a story of loss, lamentation and life that allows Levy to stretch his wings as a writer, director and performer.

Levy plays Marc, an artist who put his career on semi-hold as his superstar writer husband Oliver’s (Luke Evans) sci fi fantasy novels topped the best-seller lists. Tragedy strikes as Marc hosts a holiday party in their beautifully appointed London apartment before Oliver jets off to Paris for a book signing at the Louvre.

Minutes after Oliver leaves the warm, fuzzy celebration, sirens fill the air and Marc’s worst fears are realized. Oliver has been killed in a car accident, just a block from their flat.

Shattered by the loss, and the recent death of his mother, Marc withdraws, save for the company of his two closest friends, ex-boyfriend Thomas (Himesh Patel) and loose-cannon Sophie (Ruth Negga).

“For such a meticulous person,” Marc says of Oliver, “he left behind one hell of a mess.”

With the American publishing company demanding a return on Oliver’s unfinished book advances, a careful study of the couple’s expenses reveal the writer kept a secret pied-à-terre in Paris. Curious, Marc invites Thomas and Sophie for a weekend visit to Paris as a thank you for helping him through a very difficult year. “This is where people come to have sex,” Sophie yowls as they lay eyes on Oliver’s secret getaway.

As the City of Lights twinkles appealingly in the background, the trio confront the ragged truths of messy relationships and forge a path forward.

“Good Grief” is a study in the good, the bad and the ugly of relationships, romantic and platonic. This isn’t like a sad episode of Levy’s sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” and it’s not a ten Kleenex weepie. It’s somewhere in between. There are funny moments (see Kaitlyn Dever’s inappropriate eulogy at Oliver’s funeral for example) and humorous lines, but they are tempered by the central trio’s journey to understand the melancholic messes they have made of their lives.

It’s a mix-and-match of love and sadness with subtle shadings of romantic and road trip comedy, but it never dims the stark light it shines on the realities of friendship. Hard questions are asked and addressed, but at the end it suggests these characters don’t have their acts together, because, really, who does?

It may not be the most original thought, but this is a promising feature film directorial debut that works best when it plays it simple. A scene of the three of them on a Ferris Wheel is revealing, sweet and funny, and Marc’s scenes with Theo (Arnaud Valois), a French man he meets at an art installation, despite some clunky dialogue (“Isn’t art kind of a commemoration of pain?”) are among the film’s best.

“Good Grief” is an open-hearted, amiable film that displays Levy’s abilities as a director. It’s a handsomely mounted movie with a keen eye for casting. Luke Evans is particularly well suited to play the movie’s McGuffin, and capitalizes on his modest screentime. Patel and Negga make the most of their sidekick roles and Paris looks beautiful. Most of all, however, it’s unafraid to defy the expectations we might have had for Levy’s follow-up to the success of his award winning “Schitt’s Creek.”

CTV NEWS AT 11:30: MORE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND!

I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend, including the theatrical satire “American Fiction” starring Jeffrey Wright, the Netflix documentary “Kevin Hart and Chris Rock: Headliners Only” and the Crave documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.”

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 19:40)

YOU TUBE: THREE MOVIES/THIRTY SECONDS! FAST REVIEWS FOR BUSY PEOPLE!

Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to wrap a gift! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the satire “American Fiction,” the high-flying wrestling movie “The Iron Claw” and the drama “The Zone of Interest.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!