My Dead Friend Zoe

Soooo...I went to see this film at AMC's Scream Unseen, which is exclusively for horror flicks. So that was upsetting, this home is absolutely not horror in any way shape or form. Secondly, since it was an early release the director begins the film with telling you about his newest dark comedy. This is assuredly not a dark comedy or even funny at any point. With that out of the way, this is a film about and for veterans and addressing the higher suicide rate of those who have served our country. Of course this is an important topic and I appreciate the directors and writers who made the film. Unfortunately there isn't much here till about 70 minutes into the film. More of a slice of life that happens to have veterans in the film. I would wait to stream this film. Not really worth a romp to the theatre.

I had an idea on what the story was about, but it threw a couple curve balls at me. The fight at home is sometimes worse than the fight in the war. We had an epidemic, and I'm happy to hear that it's been finally slowing down a bit since 2019. My heart goes to all those who are effected, no matter at what level. I hope better programs are put into place going forward. We shouldn't be sending them out, just to bring them back and let them suffer alone. We have a duty to them, as they served a duty to all of us. I think that's one thing a lot of us can unite on. Truly a great story with a powerful message. The movie can be a little slow at times, so that's where my 7 comes in, but its still one I'd tell the right people to go and see.

Saw at AMC on 3-5-2025 with Nicole.

"Think very seriously about whether living in the past is worth it." Dr. Cole (Morgan Freeman)

Anyone who has ever lost a close relative or friend can identify immediately the signs of sorrow, be it enhanced by post-traumatic syndrome disorder or just monumental grief. Throw in some gallows humor, and you have an intellectually-rich and entertaining experience.

Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), an ex-GI out of Afghanistan, needs to heed the doctor's advice, for remembrance of her best friend, Zoe (Natalie Morales), from that war haunts her constantly, therefore, the title, My Dead Friend Zoe. The film is a testimony to first-rate filmmaking with a topic that sometimes leads to dark comedy and at others deeply-felt universal angst.

The humor comes mostly from Zoe, often in scenes where she appears only to Merit with gallows humor that might be merited from a dead vet. When she calls Merit's court-ordered group therapy "kumbaya" nonsense and requests watching M*A*S*H again but not as a drinking game, writer/director Kyle Hausmann Stokes (who partially cites his own experience) and co-writer A. J. Bermudez emphasize the personal therapy Zoe applies through sarcasm and disrespect, a regimen Merit accepts no more than therapy and the doctor's wisdom.

A change agent is Merit's Vietnam vet uncle Dale (Ed Harris), a no-nonsense, retired-Lt.-Colonel also on the downslide from early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Both need each other to become whole, but this change does not happen easily or early. The slow pace of the film matches the slow pace of both heroes' rehab.

Like his broken birdfeeder and the war machines she repaired in the service, rehab is the dominant motif, where even the minor characters, like Merit's potential love interest, Alex (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who discovers her amid the restrictive social world of his family-owned retirement home. While her family's lake house in Oregon is the perfect place Zoe characterizes as starter for a horror film, it turns out to be a heavenly spot to grow, sans the distractions of modern displacements.

My Dead Friend Zoe is an enjoyable start to the post-Oscars season-let's hope for more elegant small films like it in the next few months.

While I can understand why some might have a real connection to this movie and rate it a 10 for that reason (ie you served in the military (thank you for your service), lost someone close to you, or had to deal with putting an elderly family member in an assisted living home against their will), this movie isn't an Oscar worthy film. At the same time it isn't a "1" , worth walking out on, not by a long shot.

Like many I saw this movie as it was playing as the Screen Unseen, Monday movie of the week (love this idea by the way). The script is ok, not terribly deep or thought provoking. There are some cute, funny moments scattered about, but not sure I'd put this in the dark comedy category.

Morgan Freeman isn't used very effectively as some scenes cried out for more interaction between him and the lead character. Without that character depth, anyone could have played that role as meaningfully as he did, which wasn't very.

The ending could have used a little more fleshing out of some details to really deliver. It wasn't bad, and it gets its point across just fine. But overall that's what this movie is, it's just there and it's just fine. That's not a terrible thing, but it's not an amazing thing either.

That said, I am glad I saw it and I enjoyed it.

Throughout this movie I felt there was something missing or wrong with the entire premise or story line.

After some time thinking things over and re-watching the movie, I think I know what it is: It really shouldn't be a comedy.

The subject matter is important and I think it would have been much more effective had the movie been entirely dramatic.

The story of a multi-generational military family - having made sacrifices for the country at great personal cost - should be told with more seriousness.

I do understand the artistic choice to use an imaginary dead friend as a story device. But I think it could have been done well even without the comedy.

Still, the acting was very good. And I'm glad Sonequa Martin-Green got to be lead in a movie that has nothing to do with Star Trek.