Joshy

I watched this with no prior knowledge of what it would be and was very pleasantly surprised. There's a great cast, all of whom I've seen and enjoyed in their various TV shows. The story is about a group of friends on a weekend retreat bonding after a traumatic event and it's mostly just conversations and mundane character interactions, usually involving drinking and drugs.

Some of it was absolutely hilarious and some of it was very emotional, yet it all felt very real. It's not a mind blowing or deep film but it's brisk, fun and well acted. A great low key adult comedy! Definitely recommended.

The brief summary given about this story creates a different idea in ones head than what the movie actually delivers. And what the movie offers is a story of four complex guys that have come together to help Joshy get past his depression over the death of his fiancé. And as the weekend of trying to have fun evolves we learn that Joshy is just one of the guys having his own problem. Each one must deal with his own emotional self and girlfriend relationship disappointments.

Joshy must deal with the death of his girlfriend, Ari questions his marriage, Alex gets dumped by his girlfriend of ten years, Eric has commitment issues, and Greg can't seem to find a girlfriend. Each character keeps his feelings bottled up except Alex who tries to rationalize his feelings and is willing to talk to anyone who will listen.

The term 'male bonding' has been used to describe this movie but I believe it has nothing to do with bonding. Four of the five are close friends from the start and Greg was the 'guy who came along for the fun'. The story is actually about trying to avoid the issues at hand through booze, drugs, and strippers! Then near the end the five are forced by circumstance to come to terms with themselves and deal with life as best as one can.

This is a talky movie and each actor does an excellent job at being the character they were cast to be. My favorite was Ari & Jodi - they seemed so perfect together as a couple. Director/writer: Jeff Baena succeeds in creating a story of what life is like more-so in reality than what we want it to be.

I'm not in the demographic that this film was intended for, so perhaps I'm not the best person to rate it. The premise revolves around its main character Joshy's (Thomas Middleditch) decision to still hold his pre- planned "bachelor party", even though his fiancé committed suicide some 4 months beforehand.

As Joshy's friends and acquaintances gather at a rented home in the country, I felt, as things progressed, that some of the dark and dry humor was quite effective, especially that of the dweebish Adam (Alex Ross Perry). However, more often than not the characters and plot machinations could get rather annoying and even "go off the rails" into areas that just didn't work, in my opinion.

To note, there's plenty of drug usage on screen, lots of raw language, explicit references, and one scene of nudity.

All in all, unfortunately I thought the negatives here outweighed the positives and thus only a fair rating.

I was actually very surprised by this movie and how good it was from start to finish. The time flew by and the actors all did a great job. I won't give any spoilers away and don't want to be so vague but it's basically a movie about a group of friends that are on a weekend to try and help their buddy deal with feelings that have been suppressed. There are some very funny moments and the actors do a great job with what they were given to make you feel as though you are there with them. The way they all interact was quite well done and you get a real sense that these people actually care deeply about one another. It's a comedy with a serious topic and they do an excellent job. I highly recommend this indie type movie that deals with sadness with a bit of partying and friends with a good sense of humor.

I was hesitant to start this movie because of the low rating but I like all the actors and I'm very glad I did. I was under the impression this would be nonstop laughs. I was almost immediately proven wrong. This movie let's your guard down & then hits you with surprisingly emotional moments that don't feel cheap. I feel like I know all the character types. It's very hard not to spoil this movie. Sure the acting isn't perfect & it can get surprisingly dark but it felt like hanging out with real people who were going thru some stuff & came out the other side. Very touching, sometimes funny. Give it a chance.