Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
8.5
This is as feel-good film as it gets for me. As someone who frequently spends an entire afternoon at a multiplex to enjoy anywhere from 2-5 (my record) movies… This film was speaking my language. Summer coming of age/love story set in up to your eyeballs nostalgia? I’m there! The story may be a little simple and goofy, but they absolutely killed it in the eyes of this fellow movie buff!
7.8
Just a good old fashioned raunchy high school coming of age comedy. Chef’s kiss. No more, no less. I was pleasantly surprise by how well this one nailed the ambiance of the genre and played it’s part perfectly. It didn’t take itself too seriously and didn’t overthink things.
Appropriate? Not in the slightest.
Hilarious? You bet your ass.
8.5
I can honestly say that I had no idea what the hell was going to happen next this entire film… I was blown away with every twist and turn here. The film pulls the rug out from under you every time you make an assumption or feel assured you’re finally on steady footing. A mix of Tarantino and Nolan, the story unfolds in out of order chapters, slowly blossoming and colliding with the serendipity of a romance novel. Gird your loins… I guarantee that you’re not ready for this one.
Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are ELECTRIC, and perfect for their roles. Not a second wasted, and not an emotion missed in a tight one and a half hour thriller/horror/romance that will leave you laughing(?) at the MOST inappropriate times. One of my top movies of the year. Booking it now.
7.5
Trigger Warning – This movie does dabble in the subject matter of suicide. Please contact 988 (https://988lifeline.org/) if you ever feel yourself in the darkest of dark places. As the sign at the end of this movie states, “let’s talk about it.”
With that being said, it’s a wonderful, heartfelt reflection and dark comedy about meaning and purpose in life and the importance of human connection. In a somewhat similar storyline to the “Mamma Mia,” our new friend John here finds himself with a surprise love story boomeranging back to him. He also finds out why he got the house on the island with a view for such a steal. As someone who often uses humor as a coping mechanism, I found a great kinship in this story of folks finding humor and beauty in what could be their darkest moments. Humans connecting through their shared adversity is one of my favorite genres, both on the big screen and in life. This movie does a great job of not taking itself too seriously at just the right times, which helps the heavy hitting notes to feel incredibly genuine for a Netflix movie. I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Of course, the music is also on-point throughout the runtime, which helps take it to another level. I’ll also from now on be referring to it as “jumping” into love instead of “falling,” in solidarity with my man Harry Connick Jr. He and Angi Scott had off the charts awkward chemistry and really kept the movie firing on all cylinders.
7.6
Way better than expected! I’m glad the Netflix “Leaving Soon” banner prompted me to finally give this one a whirl. It was just the right film at just the right moment. A nice little jolt of restoration of faith in humanity and love. From Nicholas Cage, of all people. Far departed from his more current role of Longlegs. He and Bridget Fonda have a wonderful ease about their friendship turned relationship that blossoms from a natural chemistry. It’s not often we get to see this side of Cage, but when we do it really shines.
The story was as wacky as they come, but perfectly authentic. I appreciate a film that dedicates itself to bringing such great characters to the screen. Was it clunky at times? Sure was. But it was the clunky that made it feel real and feel genuine.
Side note – is there an artist who cranked out more “late night dance in the kitchen” songs than Sinatra? “The Lady is a Tramp” has some competition now… (One person will get the deeper meaning behind this Easter egg. It’s as inside baseball as it gets. For everyone else – both are kick-ass songs.)
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 