(**1/2)
A tepid rom/com/dra usually breeds ambivalence. That’s the case here. There are chuckles, whimsy, flirtations and tragic twists. But in the end, though entertaining and breezy, nothing cuts as deep as it should.
Comic actor/showrunner/writer/producer/director Daniel Levy was laugh-out-loud funny on his Emmy-winning series Schitt’s Creek. As a family went from great wealth to abject poverty in the most drastic way, every humorous detail seemed perfect. The entire cast mined the chortling absurdity of crash landing in a cheesy motel. So, it’s kind of surprising that Levy plays it safe with his affected tale about lost love, betrayals and learning to cope. And, making the characters bourgeois doesn’t help the empathy factor. Easy to observe, hard to commiserate.
Marc (Levy) and his husband Oliver (Luke Evans; Beauty and the Beast, Our Son) are the pillars of their circle of friends. Rich, successful, loving. So, it is shocking when Oliver drives off in a cab headed to the airport for a trip and is involved in a tragic accident. Now Marc, the grieving widower, must pick up the pieces, which includes learning that his spouse had a secret life.
As he puts on a brave face, the distressing details of Oliver’s romps reveal themselves. Marc goes on an emotional roller coaster ride of feelings as he uncovers more and more mysteries. Fortunately, his two best buds, Sophie (Ruth Negga; Loving, Passing) and Thomas (Himesh Patel; Station Eleven, Tenet), console him. He jets his less rich friends off to Paris and that’s when the Schitt hits the fan.
What Levy’s script gets right is the premise and adding enough twists to keep the audience guessing. Hard to imagine where all this is going, and many will go along for the ride anyway. The Marc character is sometimes sympathetic, sometimes not. But as good friends will do, they call him out on his selfishness. Thomas: “How is it your husband dying has only made you more of a spoiled brat?” That’s the rub. The central character can be so self-absorbed that he’s off-putting. Then there are moments when he’s charming and coping in ways that endear him. Such as, letting a stranger spend the night in Oliver’s Paris apartment when most in his position would have thrown the interloper out the window.
The opening scene packs a wallop. A party is in full swing at the couple’s apartment and is filled with banal chatter. Then the crowd breaks out in song, like actors from a Broadway musical, and the whole vibe changes for the better. Things die down, Oliver leaves and the audience is lulled into a sense of tranquility. Then a jarring car crash breaks that rhythm. These dramatic, pivotal ups and downs are the script’s saving grace. The constant stream of surprises isn’t shallow like an episode of Friends. There’s more to it. That’s the mark of a seasoned writer. Peppering the storyline at the right moments. He just needed more pepper.
Himesh Patel’s character Thomas, one of Marc’s former lovers, is about as doting as a support dog. Oliver is a cad. Levy’s Marc attracts and repulses. Negga’s Sophie has the most flash. Animated, risky behavior, spontaneous. She has spirit. Celia Imrie as the lawyer, and the rest of the cast, from Arnaud Valois and David Bradley to Jamael Westman and Yoli Fuller, fill out the ensemble nicely.
Hard to overstate the beauty of Rob Simonsen’s entrancing score, with its sublime piano music. Alice Normington’s production design and Julian Day’s costumes fit the surroundings and the people. While Jonathan Corn edits judiciously and Ole Bratt Birkeland’s cinematography captures the beauty of Paris in the most alluring ways.
Gay movies that focus on friendships and romance and avoid cliches, tropes and stereotypes can trace Gay movies that focus on friendships and romance and avoid cliches, tropes and stereotypes can trace their origin back to films like 1986’s Parting Glances. It was written and directed by Bill Sherwood and had a similar premise. A gay couple prepares for one of the spouse’s trips to Africa and they have an eccentric circle of friends who love and support them. Parting Glances was ground-breaking at the time. Bereft of the flamboyant queer figures Hollywood had fed the public (e.g., The Bird Cage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane). These were down to earth characters just living life. Real folks. Levy’s production is similar except many people won’t relate to the overly upscale protagonist’s overly upscale problems.
However, there are some perceptive relationship, marriage and friendship issues on view. There’s also a winsome museum scene that’s wonderful. But in the end, what’s missing for adult audiences are higher highs, deeper lows and emotions that linger.
This is an extended group therapy session that might have been a better series than a feature film. Good enough to watch until the end. Not good enough to recommend wholeheartedly.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR_MPXTaEZw
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.