Mr. Roosevelt

Noel Wells excels in her directorial debut in Mr. Roosevelt. I was unfamiliar with Wells' work until viewing this film despite her work on SNL. While directing, she also plays the lead role of Emily Martin who left her home and boyfriend to pursue comedy in Los Angeles. Emily is a struggling comedian who must quickly return home as her cat, Mr. Roosevelt, is dying. While in Austin, she stays with her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend. The perfect set up for this comedy. Over the course of the movie, Emily learns much about the life she left behind and her own self. Throughout the film the viewer is dealt with awkward situations followed by Wells' quick witted humor. She has a lot of silly habits that I can relate with that make this movie more enjoyable. If you're into indie films put together by striving and thriving artists, Mr. Roosevelt is worth your viewing.

Yes, it's your typical navel-gazing Austin indie.

But it's cute, refreshing, real, and it delivers some good insights a lot of people may need to grow as a person.

May appeal to women more than men, despite lots of nudity.

I went into this because it seemed like a cute little film, and it was. It's not flawed or that amazing, but it's super enjoyable and funny, and it has a super hilarious actress in the lead role. I loved Noël Wells in Master of None's first season and I had no idea she was such a talented comedic actress. She's aces here and is definitely the best reason to watch the film. She's a huge talent to watch out for, not just in acting but in writing and directing.

I liked the way this film pushes back against the prevailing indie wisdom that anyone with a smidge of artistic talent just needs to follow their dreams until they catch them... The script may seem flimsy at times (maybe one too many chance meetings, even for a small college town?), but the setup's quite ingenious: UT Austin grad Emily's leading the dreary life of an aspiring sketch comic in LA when the cat she left behind with her ex gets sick.

Back in Austin, things have changed: her ex, a struggling rock guitarist, is hoping to get his real-estate license; his new S.O.'s a stylish, code-writing "entrepreneur," and the remnants of Emily's old life have been consigned to a backyard shed. At dinner with the couple and their bougie friends, Emily has a serious meltdown. Suffice it to say that it takes her a while to resolve all her issues... Richard Linklater fans will enjoy the scenes set in historic weird Austin; Daniella Pineda stands out as a kickass rock drummer/waitress.

Wells is a little comedic genius, where has she been hiding?

She wrote, directed and starred in this tale of a single woman in Hollywood who returns home to Austin, which alone is impressive, but she also does spot-on impressions of Holly Hunter and Kristen Wiig.

A fun serious/comedy, check it out.