On the Count of Three

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.

Solidly directed, splendidly acted, and wholly hilarious and witty while never losing its sharp edge of dark profound observations on life, loss, and purpose.

I was surprised how the script manages to handle so many subplots and themes with grace and care, with none of them ever overshadowing the others.

The characters are all monumentally flawed, saying and doing things that I certainly didn't agree with, but that's what made for such a satisfying human experience.

Tiffany Haddish is in the movie for less than 5 minutes and she manages to portray what is arguably her best character on screen. That alone makes this movie worth checking out.

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.

It's a solid debut.

A role made for Christopher Abbott, I love seeing him in films of this genre, it's totally fitting his look/behaviour.... it almost feels like he's not even acting, it's very genuine.

Looking forward to watching the director's next one!

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!