The Year of Spectacular Men

Izzy Klein (Madelyn Deutch) is an X-Files-obsessed sheets-fearing M&Ms-eating mess. It's four years after her father's suicide. Her sister Sabrina (Zoey Deutch) is a Hollywood star. Her boyfriend Aaron Ezra dumps her and it's a series of awkward relationships with men. Her mother (Lea Thompson) and her young girlfriend Amythyst Stone are vegan soul walkers. Following her graduation, she moves to L.A. to live with her sister and her TV star boyfriend Sebastian Bennett.

Madelyn's writing has some fun takes. The sisters have good sibling chemistry. Lea's directing is functional but she should have understood the most important point. The protagonist should be played by the biggest star. The sisters should switch roles. Zoey has an awkward humor that would have worked great as Izzy. I'm sure that there is some autobiography in Izzy being the less successful older sister but the story can be reworked. This has a couple of laughs. It's some quirk and good heart. This could have been an indie darling with Zoey as the lead.

There are actually a few things to like about this film.

Theoretically, there is no reason the average Joe on the street should (or could) relate to the lives of these characters. Movie stars, glamourous looking chicks, awkward movie directors, the moviestar boyfriend who looks like Johnny Depp...

I do find it interesting that certain aspects of the film would have raised eyebrows in previous eras, yet it would have to be considered quite tame by todays standards.

Izzy herself and her "year of male smorgasbording" might even have have been given some pretty unflattering labels, IF this were a different era!!

But she is gorgeous, and even if the characters dont really represent "everyday" people, the dramas they have are still relevant to the reality of life today.

So in that regard, the three female leads manage to pull it off, for me anyway.

They deliver likeable characters that somehow manage to inject a certain form of reality that makes you feel for them and their dramas.

Not every film has to have endless plots and deliver earthshattering realisations. I was a bit dubious after the first 20 minutes, but i am glad i kept watching. There was enough to keep me interested till the end, but maybe some of that is due to being a sucker for gorgeous blondes.

Not exceedingly great, but (all in all) a passable package as far as rom-coms go.

I keep coming back to this movie. The relationship between the sisters, the themes of becoming an adult and moving away from grief, the music. Of course this movie was made by a mother and her daughters - it so brilliantly captures those relationships. I really hope they have more stories in them.

The low score this film received on IMDB motivated me to write this review, my first. I realize this is clearly a result of not enough women contributing. Come on ladies - make your voices heard more often.

Apart from the quaintness of the real life Mother and Daughters thing this rom com is not that great. The way the cast delivers their one liners in a monotone makes it hard to appreciate the comedy. A little more mention of adult things than typical Lifetime. Not lol funny. The guys are a little unspectacular. Sometimes the shouting of the characters borders on shrill.

Not a must watch.

The film has some poor reviews on this page. I imagine a story written about a young woman and finding oneself is not going to appeal to everyone. This film is female driven and there is a big market for that out there. The main actors are endearing and the story of being lost and confused would be relatable to many.

The fact that three of the main characters were family made this feel warm and authentic. The second act which becomes more about family than about men was my favourite. Recommend this for anyone who likes films made by hand, with a good soundtrack and a few good laughs.