I'll Be Right There

Just saw this at Annapolis Film Festival and want to watch again immediately. This intelligent, witty, and pitch-perfect character study follows Wanda (Edie Falco), a woman who will drop everything to help out a family member... And lately, they just all seem to need way too much help. The title, "I'll Be Right There" perfectly sums up her character. Impressively, the film does not seek to reduce this type of person, and we all know someone like this, or ARE this person.

This film will give you a lot to reflect on, no matter where you fall on the scale of being a 'Giver' (If you're a 10, chances are you're not only neglecting yourself but also enabling bad behavior and making other people more dependent on you... If you're a 1, chances are you are so afraid of getting used that your relationships suffer).

This is a movie for adults, putting this question of "How much helping is too much?" at center stage. Edie Falco makes you feel the exhaustion and the worry, and keeps the audience from judging her choices, which constantly surprise. She is not an idea. Her character has layers of specificity and many sides that aren't apparent right from the start. This kind of storytelling is a delicate soufflé - and it flies in the face of a lot of pressure for screenwriters to amp up conflict and and give the audience big emotional signposts.

Based on reading the summary, I was expecting a different kind of film, one that had an agenda to criticize this kind of helicopter parenting and the way it can yield floundering, helpless adult children.

This is certainly a subtext of the story - How does Wanda's enabling behavior affect those around her? But Jim Beggarly's script in the hands of director Brendan Walsh has so much more on it's mind.

There were times early on where I felt resltess - "Where is this movie going?" A few scenes, including an amazing monologue by Jeannie Berlin as Wanda's mother, seem take their time and don't have a clear impact on the scenes that follow. By the end, it's clear that every lived-in moment, all the random details of Wanda's chaotic week, have created a tapestry so rich that it invites true reflection of very adult problems that we often never vocalize to people around us, even though they are central to our daily ups and downs.

I can imagine some people having life-changing conversations if they were to watch this movie with a sibling, a parent, or their own adult children.

Truly sublime filmmaking. It doesn't announce itself as important, or push buttons to get your emotions flowing. I hope it finds a devoted fans regardless. I count myself as one.

Saw this at the 2024 Annapolis Film Festival. First time attending a film festival.

Appreciated this snippet from the program:

"We go to the movies to be entertained, educated, thrilled, horrified, to laugh or to cry and importantly, enjoy a respite away from our face-paced world"

This new favorite comfort movie of mine. It is incredibly charming and full with love. I really hope this gets a respectable theatrical release so I can show my mom. Really fun experience attending my first ever film festival. Thank you, Annapolis Film Festival.

Also, something cool-I sat in the row directly in front of Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco).

Edie Falco? Star. Charlie Tahan? Star. Jeannie Berlin? C'mon. Everything that you'd want from a heart-warming story-line filled with comedy AND more.

Like many women with families, Wanda (Edie Falco) is the glue that bonds her clan together. They bond around trips to the ice cream parlor. They bond around their wacky family history. They also bond together through their competitively dysfunctional behavior, as depicted in the new dramedy, I'll Be Right There.

Life in Pearl River, NJ, hasn't been easy for the family. Son Mark (Charlie Tahan) spends his time flitting from one illicit behavior to another - a little drug habit here, a little breaking and entering there, with mom on speed dial to bail him out of a jam. Daughter Sarah (Kayli Carter), almost nine months into her first pregnancy, while simultaneously prepping for her dream wedding, is a hypochondriac. She spends her time berating her spouse-to-be as not being the sharpest pencil in the box. Mom Grace (Jennie Berlin) is convinced she's dying of cancer. Dressing as if she's going to her own funeral, she's elated to find she 'only' has leukemia and lights up a cigarette in front of Wanda to celebrate the 'good news'. Ex-husband Henry (Bradley Whitford), now saddled with three young children in his newer family, is also saddled with huge debts and tells Wanda there's no way he can help pay for their daughter's wedding.

Constantly surrounded by a revolving series of dramas, Wanda's life is filled with needy people. While it exhausts her, she thrives on the chaos, believing that if she's not the ringmaster, the circus tent would fold up. She'd never admit that she enjoys controlling every situation, but she always dives in to help, even when that help is not being requested. It's been going on for years. Finally, now, while she's 'helping', she's also coming to the realization that, like many women in similar situations, she's lost track of who SHE is, what Wanda wants for herself. Grace recognizes that trait in her daughter and tells Wanda, "There are some things you have no control of."

Both kids, who have reached adulthood in years, while obviously not in emotional maturity, resent their father for leaving and having a new family, and blame him and their mother for their own failures. Wanda is currently involved in not one but two relationships outside her family, but is realizing that neither of them are fulfilling for her as a person. She is even offered help from both, but denies each offer. Wanda's reached a breaking point.

But what do you do when you believe you're one who has to be strong for everyone else? That everything will fall apart if you're not right there for them? Especially when, on the rare occasions that you ask for help, and that help is denied.

Mothers, and women in general, will see themselves in Wanda. Wondering if she made the right choices, wondering if the mistakes her kids make are her own fault. Has she done enough? Has she done too much? How Wanda is finally able to let go and move on with her own life is the crux of the film. I'll Be Right There shows how humanly imperfect most families are. Though viewers may not have this family's specific issues, they're sure to recognize and embrace the humanity of the characters.

Wanda (Edie Falco) is always there for her needy family. Her mother is diagnosed with leukemia but unlikely to die from it. Her pregnant daughter is getting married, but her ex-husband is withdrawing his half of the money. Her son keeps complaining about her to his therapist who promptly quits on him. Her family keeps calling on her and she keeps answering.

The movie could do something more to drive the drama and narrative. In many ways, Wanda is just moving from one scene to another and they are all essentially the same. She is being burdened with everybody else's problems. It's a little funny but repetitive. This may work better if she is running around all day preparing for the wedding. That would allow the story to have a cohesive plotline. More than anything, this shows Edie's great acting abilities in doing simple work.

Hey folks, I'm adding my voice to the chorus of positive shout outs because this movie is special. I caught it at last year's NBFF and it was a standout. Quirky and funny, leavened with real moments of parental angst and regret. This is a really original piece of filmmaking that's a touching tribute to all those single moms desperately trying to hold a family together. It's about when to hold on and when to let go and how hard it is to do both. Edie Falco really lets it all hang out as Wanda, the mom who gives and gives and gives with no boundaries. You all know someone like this. (My 2nd eldest cousin is soooo like Wanda.) And this movie gives Wanda the room to show how you get to a place like this with her son Mark (Charlie Tahan) and daughter Sarah (Kayli Carter), both "takers" who don't seem to know better, but really do. Mark is especially angst-inducing, especially if you're a parent whose dealt with someone like him. (No spoilers, but I'll let you guess what his issue is.) Matching Edie Falco in the "letting it all hang out" dept. Is Michael Rappaport as Marshall, one of Wanda's admirers who is goofily self-aware and gives the film a honest edge. I could go on about this movie, but suffice to say, this film fits like a well-worn pair of stained sweat pants and will get you right in the feels. Kudos to writer Jim Beggarly, director Brendan Walsh, producer Peter Block, editor Aron Orton, composer James Righton, DP Aaron Medick. Plus costumes, prod design/set decor. Go see it when it finally comes to an art house near you.