Anna et Ben

This film was such a pleasant surprise. It was really refreshing to watch two people who could be from my life and to have conversations that seemed real. Not clichéd or cheesy. The chemistry between the lead characters is incredible. I had to google to see if they really were in a relationship! Much enjoyed Friday night in, kind of uplifting film.

Band Aid is a musical comedy that starts off very light hearted, fun and quirky but ends up discussing genuine marital issues, what it means to be in a long term relationship with someone and getting over loss. All the while incorporating great, entertaining music.

Starring Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally and Ravi Patel the cast captures their respective characters very well, the two leads initially managing to capture the constant bickering of long married couples brilliantly in an almost too mundane but authentic way. While also managing the tenderness and genuinity of their relationship in several scenes that shows the love and care between the two.

The film's first half is indeed quirky and fun as the characters from this band and begin singing about their arguments and what they hate about each other. There is a growing debate between the two as Pally's Ben considers himself a realistic and Lister-Jones' Anna is the 'dreamer' this conflict of characters drives most of the drama and conflict of the film but is also what ends up bringing them together towards the end of the film where the film takes a more serious turn discussing the ideas of meeting a middle ground and of compromise.

Band Aid is a fun microcosmic view of human romantic relationships, a meditation of what it means to be with someone and issues of loss and the role of emotions. While also managing to discuss gender roles and the different ideologies that men as men hold and women as women hold, there is something very tender, soft but philosophical in the discussions of the film. Making Band aid a feel-good type watch that isn't taxing at all, a very easy watch.

Anna (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) are a couple fighting about everything. They are struggling. She suggests turning their fights into songs. They start a garage band with their sex-addict neighbor Dave (Fred Armisen).

Anna and Ben have some fun back and forth with Hitler jokes. I don't particularly like anybody else nor do I truly hate any of them. It's a lot of quirky hipster Hollywood and not necessarily that funny. It's especially true for Fred Armisen. He's trying too hard for my taste. I also don't like the songs. I struggle with that whole side of the movie.

I like Zoe and Adam. The movie hints quite forcefully early on about a great lost. It's revealed later on but an earlier reveal would have been better. It's not that shocking and it hung over the movie for the first half. Once revealed, the relationship has some terrific emotional scenes. There is something in this pairing but the surrounding elements don't always work.

This movie was comedy versus drama mediated perfectly with music. A wonderful film.

"Band Aid" (2017 release; 93 min.) brings the story of Anna and Ben. As the movie opens, Anna and Ben, a married couple, are arguing over the dishes that are left sitting in the kitchen sink. "You are quite the dish Nazi", Ben screams to Anna, who does not take it well. "I come from a long line of Holocaust survivors!", she retorts. When they go to Anna's best friend's party celebrating her one year old's birthday, Anna and Ben pick up the kids' instruments, singing an impromptu song, to their delight, "What if we turned our fights into songs?", Anna wonders. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first and foremost, this movie is a labor of love for Zoe Lister-Jones, who not only stars (as Anna), but wrote, produced and directed as well. She is omni-present, and that is a good thing. Here she brings a look at married life and how to combat when a marriage seems stuck, if not worse. (It's only much later in the movie why the marriage seems stuck in the first place.) Lister-Jones, who has released music before, also co-wrote the songs that are featured in the movie. At first, the movie feels like "can music save this marriage" type movie, but that is less and less the case as we get deeper into the movie. And is this the first movie where the main character (Anna) makes a living as an Uber driver? Besides Lister-Jones, there are several other wonderful acting performances, including Adam Pally as Ben, and Fred Armisen as their neighbor (and eventual band mate and drummer). Keep an eye out for a blink-it-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance of director Deryl Wein (Zoe's real-life husband). Last but not least, I have no idea what the movie's title "Band Aid" means. Is it a reference to the 1980s all-star charity group that recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas"? Your guess is as good as mine. Bottom line: "Band Aid" is a heart-felt indie romance-drama with/by/from a stellar Zoe Lister-Jones.

"Band Aid" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It finally opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (3 people, including myself), much to my surprise and disappointment. Maybe this is the type of movie that will find a second life once it's available on Amazon Instant Video and eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Band Aid" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!