You, Me and Him

Faye Marsay stole the show in here, a not-so-feel-god comedy drama that will most likely go unnoticed by most. It has some strengths in funny moments but it's definitely not enough.

Enjoyment: 4/10 Relevance: 2/10 Acting: 3/10 Script: 3/10

Final grade: 4/10

What could possibly go wrong when you combine a gay couple (one a career driven lawyer - Lucy Punch, the other a pot-smoking, fun loving layabout - Faye Marsay ) and throw in their neighbour, an annoying bearded Casanova (David Tennant)? Answer - quite a lot.

I really enjoyed this inventive funny debut feature by writer/director Daisy Aitkens. Well worth checking out!!

I was very excited to see this as I am a big fan of David Tennant, but sadly this film left me with a sinking feeling by the time it was over.

The good: I am amazed they were able to make this film with a budget of under $160,000. That is incredible and I give the filmmakers huge kudos for that. There were also several good to great performances. Faye Marsay was wonderful, as were David Tennant and Sarah Parrish. And I even laughed once or twice.

The bad: The writing was not good. It doesn't matter how top notch the talent is, the writing dragged them down. There were moments that were just so ridiculous (and not in a good way) that my suspension of disbelief was compromised and I just kept repeating: this is awful, who thought this was a good idea, etc.

Another big problem I had was that there was very little chemistry between the two main characters (supposedly lesbians in a loving relationship). We don't see much evidence of this at all (it was more being told something vs being shown something). The women hardly touched, hardly kissed, and most of the time didn't seem like they even liked each other. For a romantic comedy, there was not a lot of romance. Instead we start the film at two truly horrible decisions being made that should make any sane person turn tail and run from such dysfunction. Most of the film has the two people not even talking let alone trying to fix their relationship. By the end of the film there is a voiceover sort of giving a recap and it's not clear whether the two are even together. I don't consider it a successful romcom if you can't see whether two people are together, but need to wait until you are told whether they are or aren't. Again, I blame the writing and directing choices.

I debated whether or not to include a spoiler, and I won't. BUT there is an event that happens in the film that made me so angry to have watched it, because I thought I was going to be watching an edgy though fun and light hearted romcom. It was traumatic and heartbreaking and not implied in any official chatter around the film. I almost stopped watching right then and there. This film is being sold as a rom-com, but people should know going into it that it is in no way fun or light hearted.

Simply loved so many aspects of this movie. David Tennant, Faye Marsay, and Sarah Parish were nothing less than brilliant; you couldn't take your eyes off them when they were on screen. Add to that the genuinely true-to-life moments of humor and deep pain - the reasons that we go to the movies in the first place - and the result is a sharing of the human condition and seeing what connects even the most different of us. The reasons to love this movie.

Then there are the reasons that this fils is so annoying...While Lucy Punch was competent as the solid core of the film, her complete lack of chemistry with Marsay held the film back from truly shining. Add to that a script that had a pair of contrived moments for every brilliant one and enough f-bombs to prove the lack of dialog inspiration and the foundation for the movie to be annoying were firm laid.

Daisy Aitkins direction was alternately spot-on and muddled, but the wonderful moments were enough to make me want to see her next project. Oh...and seeing Georgia, Olivia, and Wilfred Tennant make ridiculously blonde, beautiful, and hilarious cameos were a nice perk too.

I was fortunate to watch "You, Me and Him" at a screening this week and must say it was a delightful British comedy with a much more current twist on the usual rom-com. A stellar cast that made me laugh out loud, but also shed a tear. Go and see it, highly recommended.