Post by StevePulaski on Jun 6, 2019 11:00:29 GMT -5
Someone Great (2019)
Directed by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Directed by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
DeWanda Wise, Gina Rodriguez, and Brittany Snow.
Rating: ★★½
Someone Great lives and by the details of which it's comprised. Some of them lead to effective themes, and genuinely heartfelt moments. Others veer in the direction of tacky moments or ones that feel incredible off, or dare I say, sitcom-esque. One has to appreciate the bond the three leads manage to conjure, but at times the writing makes them feel like caricatures of themselves. There's a lot of good in this package that doesn't always feel as complete as the sum of its parts.
The latest "girls night in" offering from Netflix is the directorial debut of Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who served as the creator/writer of MTV's Sweet/Vicious, and the candy-colors, quippy dialog, and moments destined to be played-back just as soon as they happen in Someone Great reflect on Robinson's big-time starting point. It features a slew of bright-eyed, hungry talent flexing their young but formidable muscles against a freeform backdrop. It's an inclusive, judgement-free setting that is a blissfully politically correct with no shortage of souls who look to be affirming as opposed to browbeating. This makes it a pleasant watch, one with a lot of laughs, but ultimately one that undermines its relatable qualities with the burden of specificity, which tend to make its core group of strong women appear more as idealized versions of themselves.
The story opens by showing the loving relationship between Jenny (Gina Rodriguez, Annihilation) and Nate (Lakeith Stanfield's Sorry to Bother You) sour after nine years. She's a writer and he's a community organizer, but Jenny's talents have landed her a gig at the "Rolling Stone" magazine, and her impending move will soon put the kabash on their all-night rendezvous and lack of serious responsibilities. An opening montage of text messages between the couple and Instagram posts ends with Nate leaving Jenny on "seen" following their breakup. But in the few minutes we get to know Jenny before this Earth-shattering event occurs, we know she's not one who is quick to wallow in her misery, and that's exactly what she doesn't do. In her mind, partying and linking up with her closest friends is the best medicine, so she rounds up Blair (Brittany Snow, John Tucker Must Die), who is in a relationship funk of her own, and Erin (DeWanda Wise, Netflix's She's Gotta Have It), who has commitment issues with her sort-of girlfriend, to make the most of an outdoor concert/pop-up bar later that same evening. This involves an evening of college-esque debauchery for the women nearing 30, complete with enough booze, weed, and Molly to put a group of stoners in the sack early.
Rodriguez, Snow, and Wise make for an electric trio that often shines as bright as the colorful backdrops in which they're placed. These are women who are fiercely modern in their sensibilities, who communicate in colorful slang, wear T-shirts that say phrases like "Latina AF," and dance/sing-along to Lizzo's anthemic "Truth Hurts" while dancing in their apartment-sized kitchen. The three have all made an impact on past projects, so putting them together and letting them carry most of the antics in a 90 minute straight-to-streaming romp is almost a no-brainer in terms of the success it creates from a chemistry standpoint.
Most of the supporting characters, however, are underdeveloped misses. Alex Moffat plays Blair's boyfriend, and scenes between them are hokey, mainly because he's written as the kind of overcompensating partner that makes it hard to believe Blair would've lasted two dinner-dates with him, let alone multiple years. Rebecca Naomi Jones is Erin's close friend/should-be girlfriend, but a victim of Erin's fear of embracing the potential hurt and roller-coaster ride of dating somebody. In the moments she gets to speak more than two lines of dialog, you see there's a truly inspiring, thoughtful character in her that never gets to emerge. Rosario Dawson makes a cameo as Nate's cousin, who is passive-aggressive to Jenny, even when she informs her they've broken up. Oddly enough, I found Jaboukie Young-White's young, perplexingly rich millennial stereotype to be the funniest, with his lavish pad, hoverboard, and copious varieties of bud. At one point, he offers the three gals a taste of expensive tequila. "You have to drown it in Sprite," he forewarns, "because it tastes like booty. No offense to the ass-eating community," he tacks on. Get this man a spinoff!
Some comedies have a "crutch," so to speak; a device or a trope writers lean on in order to produce laughs or keep the film flowing. Someone Great's crutch is excess and constant situational comedy, which makes it veer down a path of being overstuffed but conversely underwritten. Much of the time, lines of dialog are funny as opposed to the characters, and the stockpile of event-driven scenes or "big life moments" swirling all at once negates many opportunities at introspection or a real critique of these characters and their vices that isn't a momentarily contentious conversation. For all the laughs the film provides, many of them are fleeting, and the common denominator of emotion is akin to a long, adventurous night out — exhausting and begs for an extended hot shower when it's all over.
With the recent surge of films directed by women, many of which on Netflix, it's awesome to see some new, vibrant stories that combat the litany of bargain-bin offerings of male-dominated comedies that boast little besides low-rent humor and frat-boy antics. I'd opine even the most cantankerous critic of the coming-of-age genre would be somewhat pleased to see how Someone Great handles the central breakup in a level-headed manner by the time the third act comes around, emphasizing more than just a "right person, wrong time" platitude. But Someone Great isn't quite the complete package of Booksmart nor is it as concept-driven as Brie Larson's Unicorn Store. It's a stable comedy with a charm that reflects the moment: passing as opposed to lasting.
Starring: Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, DeWanda Wise, Lakeith Stanfield, Alex Moffat, Peter Vack, Jaboukie Young-White, and Rosario Dawson. Directed by: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.