On the Count of Three

On the Count of Three is a beautiful film about friendship, empathy, and mental health. The two main characters, Kevin and Val, are lifelong pals who would do literally anything for each other. These bosom buddies are currently at the end of their ropes and see no way out of their situations but to end their lives. Forming a suicide pact, they set out on a journey to savor their last day on Earth, embarking on adventures of a tragicomic nature. An oft-underrated actor, Christopher Abbott delivers a stellar performance worthy of accolades. Carmichael on the other hand proves himself as an adept director with a bright future ahead. One last note: Kudos to the person in charge of music! Truly aced it. Go Team Indie Movies!

Depressed blue collar worker Val (Jerrod Carmichael) stuck in a dead end job and recently ended relationship visits his lifelong mentally troubled friend Kevin (Christopher Abbott) who's currently in a psychiatric holding facility after having recently attempted suicide. Val breaks Kevin out of the facility where the two agree on a joint suicide pact after taking one final day to close the books on their unfinished business.

On the Count of Three is the directorial debut for comedian Jerrod Carmichael who directs from a script by Carmichael Show alum Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch who's behind the Hulu series Ramy with Katcher. As seen in The Carmichael Show, Jerrod Carmichael is no stranger to approaching taboo or controversial topics in ways that are both humorous as well as brutally honest and while On the Count of Three isn't laugh out loud funny, it's a darkly humorous and enjoyably uncomfortable sit that tackles its broken characters with Carmichael's trademark frankness.

From the cold open that shows Val and Kevin pointing guns at each other counting up to three, the movie makes no secret of dark undercurrent of this story. From its jaunty soundtrack juxtaposed against depressing and grim imagery, the movie sets itself up as a quirky buddy comedy in its first scenes but as the film goes along it inches closer and closer to a darker and more twisted character piece that punishes its audience for identifying with Val and Kevin and pointing out how dysfunctional and unhealthy these two truly are. The movie tackles issues related to treatment of mental illness, gun control, racism, and abuse of all kinds (even sexual/child molestation) with Jerrod using Katcher and Welch's screenplay framing it as an actually discussion rather than laying it out for the audience and spoonfeeding it to the audience. On the Count of Three moves at a brisk pace at about 77 minutes not including credits, but Carmichael uses that pacing to excellent effect and you feel you get to know these characters warts and all.

I really liked this movie. It's a promising directorial effort for Jerrod Carmichael, features strong work from Carmichael and Christopher Abbott, and is unapologetic in its approach to taboo and charged subject matter. If On the Count of Three is any indication, Jerrod Carmichael may have a solid future directing other films.

Hilarious, genuine, relatable, nihilistic, emotional, and surprising.

A well executed and well-paced dark comedy starring and directed by Jerrod Carmichael for his debut. The performances and chemistry between him and Christopher Abbott were undeniable and authentic to the point were they really seemed like childhood friends. For such a dark subject matter, the entire theater audience and myself were laughing the entire time but be warned there is some heavy stuff joked about here.

This was a great directorial debut by actor/lead in this film, Jerrod Carmichael. However the two writers, Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, missed an opportunity to create something great with this concept, but instead it was just good. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good idea that was perfectly cast and performed, with an amazing soundtrack and score, but the writing was missing the cohesion and balance it needed to be great. The humor in this dark comedy mostly hits the mark, but felt restrictive with not enough laughs. It also lacked emotional depth and narrative structure, and the subject matter felt too skimmed over to have much of an impact. Still, a decent one-time watch.

Two guns. Two best friends. And a pact to end their lives when the day is done. One the Count of Three is today's crowd-pleaser, but on a different note. The parallels between this and I Don't Feel At This Home in This World Anymore feel all too real, especially since that one won the dramatic competition a couple years ago. The seriousness of suicide juxtaposed to the comedic best friends works perfectly. Christopher Abbott and Jerrod Carmichael have wonderful chemistry together. The casting is great. The script covers many topics, suicide being the main one, in a manner that lingers in your thoughts. For example, the last shot spoke so much without saying anything. For a directorial debut, Jarrod Carmichael did fantastic. I love actor-directors because they understand both sides, it's just the execution that is the question when going it. But there's no trouble directing here. Along the way, there's a few spots that slow down and didn't exactly work, but it still manages to work well in the end. By the way, the third act is done so well and one to think about. Moments throughout of the beauty of life and friendship made me like it more and more. I believe this will either win dramatic jury prize, audience dramatic, or maybe even both. One of the best Sundance has given us so far!