Lucky Them

Came across this on one of the premium channels on cable. Liked the looks of the cast, and it was just starting (as opposed to most movies I come across on the premium channels, which are usually in progress when I find them), so decided to watch. It was excellent. Toni Collette does great as usual, and Hayden-Church, playing somewhat of a variation of his 'Sideways' character, provides most of the comic relief and a great companion to Collette's more serious role. All of the characters had some likable qualities and were overall decent people, and I enjoyed the story as well.

I had no idea what to expect from this, but it did remind me of 'Sideways,' one of my all time favorites, in that it featured a couple of 'pals' (or acquaintances anyway) going on an adventure and encountering some interesting characters and situations along the way. Well worth an evening's viewing.

Now and again, with patience, a little gem comes across the video on demand that somehow didn't make it in the theaters. This film was made in 2013 and seems to be headed for a re- release. Don't wait. See it now on video on demand courtesy of Amazon. It is a treat. Caroline Sherman has the original idea for the story and it was adapted foe the screen by Huck Botko and Emily Wachtel. Megan Griffiths directs with élan.

Ellie Klug (the very fine Toni Collette) is a music critic for a failing rock magazine, SLAX' in Seattle headed by the pot-smoking Giles (Oliver Platt) in Seattle. She tends to write articles about not so talented music stars, such as street singer Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold who is proving he can be more than a warped spy on TV's The Blacklist). They have casual sex but the rock around Ellie neck is an article she is forced to write about a famous rock star Matthew Smith who ha been missing since an apparent car wreck some years back, and who Ellie was in love with back in his heyday. She ultimately agrees to do a story (more like investigative journalism) mush at the insistence of her best friend, bar tender Dana (Nina Arianda). Lacking money to make a trip to Matthew Smith country, she borrows form Giles, is ripped off by Lucas, borrows from a very strange wealthy Charlie (Thomas Hayden Church) who wants to make a documentary on Ellie looking for Matthew Smith. How that all ends up is a study of the human psyches as attached to loves of the past and longings of the present but to tell more would be a spoiler. It should be added that Johnny Depp makes a very brief but central appearance….

The cast is exemplary, especially Toni Collette who at last has a role that allows her to show just what a fine comedienne as well as serious actress she is. Tune in to the video on demand offer Amazon presents – no telling when they'll release a DVD of this treasureable film. Highly recommended.

This is a very underrated movie.

The story is simple - an aging music critic (Toni C) is forced to write about a famous one-album wonder whom she dated just before he disappeared, twenty years ago. She is goes to bed with a lot of men and if she were a male we would probably just accept that as part of her lifestyle but of course many reviewers have labeled her promiscuous. Are men promiscuous?

Along the way, she meets and falls in love with a young singer on his way up and has an aging, wealthy hipster fall in love with her.

This is a story about love - what happens to us when we cannot get over a past love and what happens when we fall in love with the 'wrong' people.

It is an adult romance story - funny but never cynical.

You may recognize yourself along the way - certainly you will recognize the feelings and memories and longings.

Better than I thought it would be. But then, I've never seen anything that features Toni Collette that I didn't enjoy. There's a very, very small handful of screen actors that can breathe real life into any character and she is among them.

Set in Seattle and actually filmed in Seattle rather than Vancouver, B.C. (how refreshing is that?), it's the story of a rock journalist who sleeps with every musician she covers, while still pining for the one she met and fell in love with in high school who mysteriously disappeared (or killed himself?) at the height of his success 10 years earlier, leaving her bereft and crushed.

When she screws up again on her latest piece, her editor assigns her a "this is your last chance or I'm going to have to let you go" story, which is to be about tracking down what happened to the mysterious, missing legendary rocker, her former lover.

As she reluctantly begins the quest she bumps into a man she very briefly "dated" previously (Haden Church), a tech bazillionaire who now aspires to be a documentary film maker. Through a mishap they become unlikely partners in her search, with him filming the progress.

The story is about their journey into the past and her finally letting go of the relationship that's still messing up her life 10 years on.

The DVD was finally released so I had a chance to see the movie. I wanted to see it primarily because of the superb cast and I wasn't disappointed by a single one of them. But I do wonder how they got the 8 figure salary Johnny Depp to play a bit role. The story didn't move me partly because the characters weren't fleshed out. One sentence or two was all the viewer was given in the way of background. Tom Hayden's character for instance is wealthy but is he really the buffoon who would marry a hooker who is secretly married and blatantly seeking to make Hayden's character become more materialistic? Johnny Depp's character is described as a "shit." Why? We're never told. It's really a tribute to the cast that this movie exists and damn near works.