On the Count of Three

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!

With the cast for this movie, I was expecting more comedy than drama. I was surprised that I got the opposite. This movie touches on mental health, society as a whole, the challenges in life, trauma, friendship and more. This film is gripping and you really beignets invested in both characters. The film was the perfect length too. Worths. Watch.

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.

I had the awards pass so in total I saw 7 films and with respect to CODA this was my top pick of the year.

Go ahead and try to explain the plot to someone and make yourself sound sane. A comedy about a man (Carmichael) finds out his best friend (Abbott) tried to kill himself 3 days prior and now wants them both to end their own lives. The subtlety in Camichael's performance is absolutely fantastic. When watching the film just take note of his level of emotion he is showing in each scene and how it changes as the film moves on. It is most interesting when he isn't talking. It is expertly done by someone known for just comedy. Abbott also shines as the damaged and crazed friend with 1999 Justin Timberlake hair who is dangerous one minute and sweet the next. The comedy lands throughout the film and this is because the film trusts it's audience to understand what is satire and what isn't. Their is no crowd-pleasing apology scene for its subject matter. No monologues about what we learned today. The film knows what it is and it's done well. I watched it with someone who was personally affected by suicide and he thought it was handled well. However if you're easily triggered this is not the film for you... and that is okay. Overall some production design could mildly improve it does look cheap at times but this was a fantastic film with great performances and the award winning script at Sundance. Don't miss it!

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.