User reviews

Suze is a successful professional woman, divorced, feeling possessive of their only child, daughter Brooke. She has been pressuring Brooke to drop her boyfriend, ne'er do well musician Gage, who is unable to finish high school. Suze is planning on Brooke to attend a local university while staying at home, and is shocked when Brooke heads off to McGill, a 6-hour drive away. Brooke proceeds to break up with Gage by text message, then ghosts both of them.

After a suicide attempt, Gage ends up under the care of Suze, whose dislike grows into a bonding experience, as both miss Brooke, and both turn out to be otherwise lonely people. That part of the plot has a parallel with the teacher-student duo in The Holdovers.

There is smart writing in the events and vignettes that flesh out the characters, with the theme that life happens, and you just have to deal with it.

What a pleasant surprise! Good acting, good story, funny, exciting, dramatic, all at the same time! Good music as well.

Suzy, a single mother who's absolutely loving her about to go to college daughter but hating her boyfriend Gage. She is crashed by her daughter leaving for the college and moving to Montreal. Then she lets Gage to stay with her helping him overcome his "accident" becoming his guardian and things get really interesting. Felt sorry for Gage cause my mom was great and his oh well how to put it? When he went to see his mom I didn't realize it was a prison I thought she was a mental patient! Gabe reminded me of my friend back in the day so maybe that's why I enjoyed this movie so much!

What could be better than an indie flick? Why a Canadian indie flick, of course! I was a bit skeptical going into this one, but what a pleasant surprise. Just about everything about it was picture perfect. Great acting, excellent writing, interesting story, and ultimately, a warmhearted and unpredictable movie.

Susan (Michaela Watkins), is a divorced mom who's raised her daughter by herself. After graduation, Brooke (Sara Waisglass) announces she's not going to college locally, but to McGill University in Montreal, six hours away. Susan is devastated. As is Gage (Charlie Gillespie), Brooke's clingy boyfriend. He's a totally unmotivated high school dropout and Susan despises him. After he attempts to commit suicide, Susan reluctantly agrees to take him in and to keep an eye on him.

The two mismatched couple eventually grow closer together, while Susan tries to move on with her life. She's a very encouraging surrogate mom to Gage and the film takes numerous twists and turns, all adding up to a funny, amusing, and satisfying hour and a half of rewarding moviegoing. If you're in the mood for something a bit different, be sure to put this film in your queue!

--MovieJunkieMark.

Greetings again from the darkness. Empty nest syndrome has always fascinated me. As parents, we strive to build independence in our kids so that they can go out in the world and fend for themselves (better described as not moving back home or remaining on the family 'payroll'). And then there are parents like Susan in this excellent and entertaining new film from co-writers and co-directors Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart (partners, spouses, and collaborators).

We first see Susan (Michaela Watkins) as she arrives home and finds her husband and a woman canoodling in the backyard swimming pool. The story then jumps ahead five years. Susan is divorced and her daughter Brooke (Sara Waisglass, TAINTED, 2020) is graduating from high school, with a plan to live at home and attend a local college. Susan is a hovering parent, seemingly involved in all aspects of Brooke's life - even questioning what her daughter sees in goofy and free-spirited Gage (Charlie Gillespie, TOTALLY KILLER, 2023), the boyfriend who couldn't manage to graduate on time.

Susan is exasperated ... or maybe just beaten down ... with her life. She works a dead-end job, is in perimenopause, has no love life of her own, can't believe her overachieving daughter is with this 'loser', and seems to have lost any portion of her own self while being a mother. Things go from bad to worse for her when her ex-husband and his new wife (Sandy Jobin-Bevans, Sorika Wolf) spill the beans on big news about Brooke. It's news that shocks Susan - mostly because she was the last to know. Now for all of this to work, the extraordinary talents of Michaela Watkins (YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, 2023; PAINT, 2023) carry these scenes. She flashes the greatest forlorn face in cinema. Is this kinda funny or is the pain too deep? Well, it's both.

The film really takes off from there. Circumstances are such that Susan and Gage are forced to spend significant time together, and what follows is an example of how humanity and emotions and personality can blend to form surprising bonds. The on-screen chemistry between Watkins and Gillespie is a thing of beauty. It's not romantic chemistry, but rather two lonely souls from different generations learning and evolving thanks to each other. Once we meet Gage's dad (Aaron Ashmore), much is understood as to why Gage thrives from Susan's caring approach.

This script is beautifully written, and the acting is superb. The cast excels in playing the scenarios as real people would. The dialogue is grounded, yet sometimes it stings, while at other times it evokes laughter. When Gage tells Susan, "We both got left by the same person", their bond is solidified - even moreso than after the 'cuddle party'. The cherry on top here is Gage performing Roxette's classic hit, "It Must Have Been Love". The film was well received at festivals last year, and I expect it will find an appreciative audience this year.

Opens in theaters on February 7, 2024.

Lots to like here. Suze deals with issues of divorce, mental health, female menopause, child seperation and mid life crises. That may seem like a lot to get through, but Suze tip toes through these minefields quite deftly with good writing and characterisation.

The production values are good enough, the acting is totally believable and the script, story and plot are very pleasing.

So why give it only 6? Well, whilst the movie was pleasant and whimsical, at times I wanted a little more comedy in the comedic moments. Maybe that was choice between script, director and actor. Also the 'make out' scene was a touch clumsy.

That being said, I would still recommend.

I had no idea what to expect from this Canadian indie but this movie ended up being exctly what I needed on a cold rainy night. Suze and Gage left me feeling hopeful about the world and their performances (by the amazing Charlie Gillespie and Michaela Watkins) were quite charming! The daughter reminded me way too much of my own (lol!)

I laughed, I teared up, and I actually look forward to watching it again. I find there aren't that many films about kindness out there and I think we need more of that.

So nice to see Michaela in a leading role as well. I always enjoy seeing her in shows but didn't know her name but I'll never forget it now.

If you want to have your heart warmed, check this out. It's such a sweet lil' love story!

I was prepared not to like this movie, and almost didn't bother watching it at all. It kind of looked like it would be one of those throwaways, too dumb to take seriously, a waste of time.

Boy, was I was wrong. I absolutely loved it. The acting by the three leads was great, exceptional really, and everybody else was believable and seemed real. The story was very good - interesting, funny, and charming. Whoever put this together really has something going for them, I liked everything about it. I couldn't find a single thing wrong with it, and I usually find something. The most pleasant surprise I can remember watching a movie.

I really loved this movie! Sweet and heartfelt, beautifully acted, with so many funny, silly, emotional and awkward moments... I will definitely tell all my family and friends to watch this! I always expect to enjoy Michaela Watkins in a movie, but Charlie Gillespie as costar was a beautiful surprise! They had a lovely chemistry that built organically, and the singing/piano moment will live in my head rent-free forever. A gentle exploration of so many subjects - love, loss, change, resilience, mental health issues for both youth and adults, the impacts of life's milestones, adult loneliness, giving your whole self to relationships without consideration of one's self- it really tugged at the heartstrings without leaving me feeling wrung out, because the overwhelming message was hope and the importance of self-care and human connection. This is something I think all of us have been feeling more and more following the pandemic. I'm so thankful for the folks who brought us these stories and these characters with these actors. So watch this movie, you won't regret it.

In hit n miss dramedy "Suze" middle-aged divorcee Michaela Watkins has miserable empty-nest sydrome when self-centred brat daughter Sara Waisglass leaves for college - yet is reluctant to take in Waisglass' brash (but broken-hearted) bro-boy ex-bf Charlie Gillespie when he hits hard times (due to his dire parents)... but she does. Cue an interesting & original twist on the traditional rom-com (props for that to co-writers / co-directors Dane Clark & Linsey Stewart in their second movie) that sadly doesn't fulfill its potential (due in part at least to the only lukewarm charm & chemistry of all the performances). While not a terrible disaster, it coulda been so much better.

Not my type of movie but when I read the intro " Daughter's ex movies in with the mom" had to check it out. The main actress is always great. This was fun, dark, exciting, happy and bunch of other emotions involved. I really enjoyed it even tho it's not my type of movie. Expect to see the kid to be In lot more movies, seems like a good actor. It's one of those movies you watch once and you are good.

Expect to see the kid to be In lot more movies, seems like a good actor. It's one of those movies you watch once and you are good.

Expect to see the kid to be In lot more movies, seems like a good actor. It's one of those movies you watch once and you are good.

This was so freaking adorable. Like a cuddly warm hug, it made me laugh so hard at times, the script is so fun and fresh, but it also made me cry a lot because damn I've been there, I suffer from depression and I felt like Gage before and Charlie's acting threw me off that water tower, so damn good, so raw, I felt it all, damn the boy can act and damn the boy can SING, literal chills, he manages to portray this character in a way that's so beautiful to see, so real. And how sweet is the relationship between the two of them, they needed each other and they didn't even know it, some connections are just the magic we need, the little push we need when we're in the depth of darkness, that kind of mutual understanding and love that makes you want to keep going. So special. I want that. Sweet sweet. Loved it. It's what movies should do.

This is a crap movie about immature people behaving in the most idiotic and irresponsible ways possible.

It got my attention wondering if it could get any worse much like when I watched "Basic Instinct 2" mostly to see how bad and stupid the movie could get. It did get bad and stupider.

The acting is "good" only because of how difficult it must have been to portray characters who were so worthless and spoiled.

Save your time and sanity and read a book or watch a test pattern for 90 minutes rather than watch this movie.

This is not a useful way to spend your time.

And is not about people who make decent roll models. The only thing missing is that no one was on heavy drugs.

This movie was incredibly sweet to watch. It's funny, sad, goofy, delicate and it feels like a warm hug after you finish it. Both lead characters have so many layers that we get to see througout the movie. I love how themes like codependency, self discovery, self worth, mental health and the meaning of love and family are addressed throughout the storyline. You end up actually feeling something for these characters, and even if you don't necessarily relate to some of the situations they go through, you will definetly relate to how they feel at some point. Michaela Watkins and Charlie Gillespie did an exquisite job with their characters and how they rely on each other to heal their own wounds. Each of them had something that the other one was missing and to watch them realize that was so so beautiful. It shows how deep human emotions can go, no matter how old or how young you are. People are just people, regardless of age or status.

A surprisingly sweet and honest movie about people who need people. The summary of the movie kinda says it all, but the winning performances of the two leads makes it real and warm and painful. If the premise seems even remotely interesting to you, really go for it. Great performances, good writing, realistic dialog and behaviors, enough comedy, and how shirtless guy. Not sure what more you could hope for in a movie. Like an inverse rom-com, with reality instead of romance. McGill has never been featured in a better movie. Nobody tastes better in this movie. Shut up man if you don't love this movie.