An unattractive, unsympathetic, well-off white guy protagonist having a mid-life crisis over the same things that most folks struggle with in their twenties, and obsessing about a bloody car, of all things: check. A soundtrack of milquetoast, "you've phoned a call center and now you're on hold" indie whatever: check. Intended humor that does not land and dramatic beats that don't carry the weight that they should: check. One recognizable supporting cast member (Vincent Caso) appearing as a minor character who's even more annoying than his most famous character (Bladezz in 'The guild') was deliberately written to be: check. One supporting cast member (Amy Jo Johnson) of whom you're a fan and who was the chief draw, but whose involvement may be less than you'd hoped: check. Ideas that don't come off as well as they're supposed to the first time they're written in, and that absolutely don't improve with repetition: check. Jokes that are tawdrily, tastelessly classist, racist, ageist, transphobic or otherwise queerphobic, and/or just downright cheap: check.
Welcome to 'Between the waves.'
In fairness, it did inspire a few partial smiles, three full smiles, and even a laugh. The cast pours commendable energy into their performances; would that directors Joe and Peter Herbert "directed" that energy into meaningful humor and emotional depth in this comedy-drama instead of over the top boisterousness. For what it's worth, I think Johnson does give the most earnest performance of anyone here - though as I'm already a fan, take that opinion with a grain of salt. There are scenes of slight cleverness that should provide more enjoyment than they do. I don't agree with every choice, but by and large this boasts strong production values, with fine cinematography, editing, production design, and so on. While the genre this plays in is tired and overdone, there is nevertheless some real value in Bob Caso's screenplay, including small kernels of sagacity. There are even some select moments that are admirably well done, and there's significantly more strength in the last third of the length than we got in the whole first two-thirds combined.
Would that the same honest care, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that we get in the last half-hour came across at any point in the first hour. Would that Caso didn't write in bits of intended comedy that didn't work for Adam Sandler fifteen or twenty years prior and that work even less in 2018 (or 2023). Would that some moments weren't so extremely on the nose, including a few odds and ends that are brought back in the last minutes. I think when all is said and done this manages to be just about perfectly average overall - but it climbs back to "perfectly average overall" only thanks to the value of the last third, which has to work extra hard to compensate for how very unworthy the preceding length was. Even at that, I wonder if I'm not being too kind. If, like me, you're a big fan of someone involved, then I guess it's worth checking out. Without a special reason to look for 'Between waves,' however, I think you can safely pass this on by without a second thought. I don't think it's bad, but only by the proverbial skin of its teeth, and what it is, instead, is mostly wearisome and wearying. Watch if you like, but don't go out of your way and don't get your hopes up.
