Good Grief

Beautifully filmed in London and Paris. Excellent cinematography and set decoration. And just the right pacing of motion and lighting by first time movie direction from Daniel Levy, who also wrote, produced and stars in his unique story of love, loss, sadness and friendship. Its so refreshing to see a story of queer love without seeing guys just ripping off their shirts for one night stands. Not much happiness is found here, but that's what makes this so true to life. I highly recommend watching this on Netflix and look forward to seeing what's next from Daniel Levy. Don't watch this looking for comparison to Shitts Creek, it's about 180° opposite.

Definitely fits into the underwhelming category based on the well known writing capability of Dan Levy. I liked the concept, but don't think it delivered. The opening segment was anticlimactic and didn't illicit the expected empathy, it was almost like "okay... now what". And the now what, was three self obsessed people pretending to be friends and having mostly meaningless conversations. The characters were all for the most part unlikeable, and therefore it didn't matter to me if they got "happy endings" and dealt with their hangups. Overall, okay, no depth to characters or story. I feel no need to ever watch again.

Good Grief delivers a compelling narrative with Dan Levy's standout performance stealing the spotlight. He knows what he is doing and what he wants to achieve and he does that well, with raw, honest emotions. His portrayal is both captivating and, at times, a tad obnoxious, but if it is part of the storytelling, I accept it.

The storytelling is enriched by a well-curated musical backdrop. I love the music.

However, the subplot involving his female friend feels somewhat disjointed, lacking the depth that could have enhanced the overall experience. It's a little bit too much, for my taste.

While the film offers a love story, it falls short of exploring the characters' personalities and stories in a more profound manner.

People are looking at this movie in a weird way. It is an original love story, regarding two people, and the *most complications you can fit into a love story while holding it all together. It, has the least amount of tropes for this category of film, and draws you in emotionally on several different levels.

Here is where the reviews start to slant. It's what I've heard as a "gay-mance" movie. Meaning a romantic film involving lovers of the same sex (in case you don't know). But if Dan Levi was played by Rachel McCadams, this would be better than The Notebook; and I hope someone tells Dan Levi that. It's a great romance that should be recognized in film. It was great to watch with my wife and ask "what if...?" I would implore everyone else to do the same.

Have you ever experienced the loss of your partner in your life? Have you tried to find fault with others in order to better cope with the situation? How much did your friends help you get through this stage in your life, and how important were they to you during this time? Is there a time frame for how long a person should grieve a loss? These are the questions you will ask yourself while watching Good Grief. Dan Levy's directorial debut, in which he has put a significant part of his story, is an unorthodox romantic drama that touches closely on the themes of love, grief, forgiveness, reconciliation and new beginnings.