The Good Half

This has to be one of my favorite movies of the year. The film follows Renn, an aspiring writer who returns home to Cleveland after the death of his mother. On the trip home meets, Zoey, a psychologist who he connects with. However, Renn is struggling with his family as the family makes preparations for his mother's funeral. Particularly, Renn is struggling with his sister Leigh, who has been doing most of the work while he is gone. At the same time, Renn finds himself relieving both good and bad memories about his mother while also learning that not everyone remembers things the same way he does. I don't want to give anything away, but I thought this was an amazing movie with a great cast. It was both emotional and funny. Brittany Snow stole the show as Leigh. Brittany is my all-time favorite actor, and this has to be among her best work. She captured what it is like to be stuck in the middle of family drama in a family crisis. She did a great job as the sister who is trying to keep the family together. She also delivers some heartbreaking scenes that blew me away. And yet, she was able to bring some levity to the role. She also did well playing off of Nick Jonas, whose character was stuck in his own way for a lot of the film. Nick Jonas proves he can not only act but lead a movie. Alexandra Shipp and Nick Jonas have amazing chemistry, and their relationship felt authentic and not forced or too over the top. Furthermore, I really liked a lot of the themes and subjects of this movie. It really captured what it's like when you lose a loved one. Renn and Leigh both go through the stages of grief in their own ways. The film also captured how both good and bad memories return in a situation like that. Lastly, the film does an excellent job of showing how different people remember people differently based on their relationship with them. Renn has one image of his mom, but his sister and the others he meets have a different one. My only complaint would be that I would've liked to have seen Leigh's character further developed. For example, there is mention of trouble with her boyfriend, but they never really get into that. Also, there was some Cleveland slander, which I didn't approve of (let's go, Cavs!). But other than that, it's a near-perfect film, IMHO. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, especially Brittany Snow's performance alone.

Renn Wheeland (Nick Jonas) is flying home to Cleveland for his mother (Elisabeth Shue)'s funeral. He connects with fellow plane passenger Zoey Abbot (Alexandra Shipp). His sister Leigh Wheeland (Brittany Snow) had been caring for their mother. Their father (Matt Walsh) has been divorced and she had remarried Rick Barona (David Arquette) who is controlling the funeral.

There are moments of dark emotional explosions and broad black comedy. It can be jarring to flip from one to the other. Nick Jonas is not necessarily a great actor. He's trying. It's tough to center such a wide-ranging role. It is a little uneven, but it kept me interested.

I'm a bit of a sucker for those films that slip under the radar, are produced on a low budget and don't have all the marketing glitz of so-called blockbuster movies. And so it is with the Good Half. Grief is an individual emotion and response that's often hard to articulate and depict on the screen without falling into cliches and mush. However the Good Half gives a worthy and considered account of what grief is like for 1 family and particularly the son, Renn Wheeland, played by Nick Jonas. With the death of his mother, he finds it difficult to express his emotions and plays it out through detachment and, at times aggression. Flashbacks of Renn with his mother during his childhood and later, add to his frustration at her passing. This is an ensemble cast and Renn's story is aided by well-balanced and convincing performances by his sister, Leigh, played by Brittany Snow and his mother Lily, played by Elisabeth Shue. Other cast members add to the well-crafted story. While the story moves along at a slow pace (as others have mentioned in reviews here) this only adds depth to the grief in the immediate aftermath of Lily's death. So be patient and watch through to the end and you'll be rewarded with a superb story of one family's response to the passing of one of their key members. Highly recommended.

Greetings again from the darkness. Losing a parent is a difficult time that most of us will deal with at some point. Sorrow and guilt and anger are typically part of the grieving process, and that's precisely what writer Brett Ryland and director Robert Schwartzmann (THE ARGUMENT, 2020) show us. For those who have been through it already, it's likely to bring back emotions that will always be there, and for those who haven't experienced this yet, it serves as a cautionary tale.

The film opens with a mother (Elisabeth Shue) trying to make peace with her angry young son (Mason Cufari). It turns out mom absent-mindedly left the boy at the store, and it takes a 'pinky promise' that "I'll never leave you again" from mom to win the boy back. Of course, as avid movie lovers, we know this means mom will in fact leave the boy again at some point.

The film then jumps ahead 15 plus years, as that young boy Renn has grown up (now played by Nick Jonas) and is on a flight from Los Angeles back home to Cleveland for his mother's funeral. While flirting over the sleeping dude in the middle seat, Renn and Zoey (Alexandra Shipp, BARBIE, 2023) bond a bit, and even exchange numbers. She's therapist in town for a conference, and he coyly avoids telling her the real reason he's home.

Once home, it's clear an agitated and barely-speaking Renn is holding back emotions, and so is his sister Leigh (Brittany Snow, PITCH PERFECT franchise). Their kinda goofy dad (Matt Walsh, "Veep") awkwardly tries to make the best of things, despite the strain between his son and daughter. Leigh is a bit miffed at Renn for leaving her alone to take care of their cancer-stricken mom, and Renn is carrying the guilt and shame of not being there, as well as the anger of having mom leave him. However, the two can share their similar feelings of disgust towards stepdad Rick (perfect villain, David Arquette), whom we also find very easy to dislike. Their casket shopping experience is a terrific scene and gives Renn a chance to open up a bit with sarcasm.

Renn escapes the pressure a couple of times by meeting Zoey for drinks ... even karaoke, where Jonas sings the Modern English classic, "I Melt with You". Jonas and Ms. Shipp have good chemistry, and that goes for Jonas and Ms. Snow, as well. In fact, Jonas delivers a strong enough performance that we feel tense when he finally unloads his pent-up emotions, and he's able to juggle the mixture of comedy and grief and family drama. Everyone grieves in their own way, and it's always painful. The film's best line, "happy or not, it's family", is one many can relate to, and there is also a bit of advice: sometimes ... take the long way.

In theaters August 16, 2024.

Why are you actually home? "My mom died."

Nick Jonas (as Renn) delivers one of the most natural, honest performances you'll ever see on film, as he returns to Cleveland to attend his mother's funeral (Lily, played by the fabulous Elizabeth Shue). Of course, the camera loves Jonas, and he's one of those actors that simply looks great on screen. Whether the camera is wide or close, he's warm, authentic and naturally charming. Then there's the superb direction from Robert Schwartzman which is also very thoughtful as he draws nuance after nuance from Jonas with subtle, quirky looks, awkward smiles, and nervous gestures). Jonas reaches acting nirvana because it never looks like he's acting.

Overall, it's often painful to watch as Jonas' character interacts with his distant father and strange step-father while missing his dead mother (through often funny flashbacks). He struggles that she left him but he also realizes he is powerless to do anything about it. But, he can hope. He wants so badly to re-live a day, an hour, even a moment with Lily. But, it's never melodramatic or overacted. Just completely natural.

Toward the end of the film, Jonas delivers a very fine monologue of just what The Good Half means to him. It's a memorable bookend to a performance that is truly perfect.

Bravo Nick.