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Greetings again from the darkness. Most frequent movie-goers have complained about the over-supply of sequels, remakes, and superhero movies. The battle cry is typically something like, "We want some creative new movie ideas!" Well, the feature film debut of writer-director BenDavid Grabinski (writer-producer of TV series "Are You Afraid of the Dark?") serves up a unique and creative premise in which Act 1 really gets us excited for new experience.
There's a party at a very nice house. A woman makes inviting eye contact with a man across the room. Their spontaneous sex romp forces Arthur (Al Madrigal, "I'm Dying Up Here") to find an alternative place for relief. Soon the hosts are explaining to Arthur that the bathroom is tied up by Tom (Joel McHale, "Community") and Janet (Kerry Biche, "Penny Dreadful: City of Angels"), a couple who has been married for 14 years, yet they can't keep their hands off each other. Skeptical Arthur states it must be an act, and "they are as miserable as everyone else."
We quickly discover that Tom and Janet are neither acting nor miserable. Dinner with the hosts of that 'bathroom' party, Karen (Natalie Zea, "Justified") and Val (Paul Scheer, "The League"), brings a disinvite to a planned couples weekend getaway, along with the brusque enlightenment to Tom and Janet, "everybody hates you." The next day, a stranger shows up at their front door. Goodman (Stephen Root, OFFICE SPACE, 1999) basically explains the couple is defective and missing the genetic DNA that creates the law of diminishing returns. Fortunately, he has the vaccine that will bring them normalcy. A dramatic turn of events leads to panic and a phone call from Karen re-inviting the couple to the weekend getaway.
That initial set-up is brilliant and played to perfection. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn't live up to that standard. Things begin to falter once the couples begin showing up at the luxurious Airbnb booked by Patricia (Natalie Morales, BATTLE OF THE SEXES, 2017) and her husband, Donald, (Jon Daly, MASTERMINDS, 2016). The other two couples include Carla (Shannon Woodward, ODE TO JOY, 2019) and Maude (Kirby Howell Baptiste, "Barry"), and Gretel (Charlene Yi, THIS IS 40, 2012) and Richard (Breckin Meyer, ROAD TRIP, 2000). Until this point, we kind of liked Tom and Janet, and got a kick out of the annoyance shown by Karen and Val. However, once everyone is under the same roof, we realize just how unlikable these people are and how screwed up each relationship actually is. The smart dark comedy of Act 1 devolves into a party that we wish we weren't at, with a twist that makes little sense.
It's fun to see the familiar faces, and McHale and Biche are fun, but the hope we felt for that creative beginning never pays off. There is a "Twilight Zone" vibe to the premise and the Stranger, but even that is a letdown. The message the movie leaves us with is that people aren't all good. It's a message we live every day, not one for a comedy.
In theaters, on digital, and On Demand March 19, 2021
score 6/10
ferguson-6 19 March 2021
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6713834/ |
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19-3-2021 02:12:02