Dear Elizabeth

It's a movie sent a message that loser is a relatively term. Sid looks like a dump loser and act weird in some way but he wins a lot in his life indeed. It's a story and fake but kinda inspired many of normal people that attitude matters. Funny movie also.

Sid Straw (Tony Hale) is a bit of an awkward loser but he tries really hard. He gets appointed co-chair of his college reunion and is told to get on Facebook in order to do the organizing. He's clueless to social media as well as many other things. He is delighted to see former college acquaintance Elizabeth Banks there and starts posting on her fan page. Only the postings are public and her agent Frankie grows tired of his persistence. Frankie files a restraining order on Sid and his life spirals down the drain.

Sid is awkward and clueless. Tony Hale does sell it for all it's worth. He keeps the character from devolving into anger or creepy. I wouldn't say that this is terribly funny but it does become touching around the middle. As his life degenerates, his sadness becomes quite compelling and very endearing. It's an improvement over his cringy cluelessness to his loserdom. By the middle, he's more self-aware. There is a sweetness to Sid and it's all down to Tony Hale.

I have been watching Tony Hale in the best comedy series ever written, "Arrested Development" and expected nearly the same character in this movie. I was presently surprised when I found him acting the part of someone that I can relate to. Someone real!

We all have that friend that tries too hard, wants people to notice them and goes out of their way just to have any kind of "win" in their lives. We all need a win, especially now, when we have all been beaten down by so much that is going on in the world.

The movie takes us on a special kind of journey; of the innocence of some people that just want to be remembered and reminds us of the loneliness that is so easily put upon us by others, sometimes because of the need that drives us to feel human and not forgotten.

I won't give away the ending or drop any spoilers in this review, but I will recommend you watch the movie. The 8 stars I gave it are for the culmination of the story, richness of the characters,their performance, and the way it made me feel to be along on the journey. That is why we watch, right? I hope you enjoy the movie, as I did.

We rented this because we like the actors, and it was a delight. The story is somewhat predictable, but not enough so to ruin your preconceptions. There are some beautifully cinematic shots mixed in among the comedy and tragedy told through the story of a man who is wrongfully accused of stalking.

Tony Hale is in familiar territory playing this character, but it is nice to see him get the chance to play the lead. His Sid Straw is an nice, honest, decent guy who happens to be social media-challenged. His lack of online savvy drives much of this story.

Hale plays awkward, self-unaware characters really well, but he keeps the tone pretty naturalistic in this story, which was a good choice. The apparent absurdity of his situation on Facebook, and the way everyone else reacts provides most of the grist for the conflict here. It's a nice commentary on the superficiality of social media, and how small actions/statements can become magnified beyond any reason.

There's a nice character story arc here, and while not necessarily driven by the character's development (he really hasn't changed that much by the end), it does wrap up in a rather heartwarming, if slightly convenient way.

A good, gentle comedy that delivers well for what it is.