The Greatest Hits

The other night my wife and I watched The Greatest Hits now streaming on Hulu. The movie stars Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min and is written and directed by Ned Benson. The Greatest Hits follows Harriet (Boynton) as she tries to lead a normal life after the tragic death of her boyfriend. Getting over him proves to be more difficult than normal because every time Harriet hears a song that reminds her of him, she is sucked back in time until the song ends. As you can imagine, this affliction not only makes it difficult for her to get over him, but it also complicates her everyday life, including dating her new love interest David (Min).

This movie had all the makings of a cute rom com that really hits you in the feels. Unfortunately, it fell short of this goal. My overall rating for this movie is a 6.5/10 meaning that, although I did not think that this was a particularly bad movie, I also won't go as far as saying that it was good. This was a perfectly ok and forgettable movie that I will most likely never think about again after I finish writing this blog. To me, the movie did not do as good of a job of relaying the message that it wanted to convey. It seemed that it was showing us the pain of moving on and how hard it is to do that, but the execution was just lacking. The acting felt hallow and I found myself not being able to get immersed into the story. All in all, if you have something better to watch on your movie night, maybe skip The Greatest Hits.

Thanks for reading and please comment below your thoughts or if you have any suggestions on reviews you would like to see.

This film was so well pieced together from start to finish. From the tiny details like the timeless timepiece on her wrist to the editing with the memory flashes. The acting was so much more realistic than typical movies these days. The dialogue felt natural and not forced or scripted. And the storytelling itself was just excellent! I was so impressed with this film. I was in a similar scenario as her and I have certainly been transported by music when it comes to certain songs tied to certain memories. For me, this film was like a daydream fantasy of mine that I'd give anything to be able to experience in real life. Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. 10/10.

Lucy Boynton plays a VERY charming girl with a tragic past. One she can access with the help of a magical-and-music-driven form of time travel, where every song becomes a potential key to undoing her tragedy. A film about grief and permanent loss.

It's good, but not great.

The time-travel system is surprisingly well-defined and consistent, and it works because it is very simple. The posed question has weight, and becomes quite defining.

So what's wrong about it?

Well, the script shows its hand early, removing intrigue from the table, and becomes a question of "choice".

Then, and sadly for me, the core relationship doesn't work.. as I didn't get to like him at all, which makes it very difficult to understand why she would. The setup feels rushed, and every development feels forcefully special. It left me wanting more authenticity and less insistence.

Ultimately, the film is quite nice, in sentiment, creativity and execution. Everything works.. except for him. And it is a REAL shame, as I really wanted to like it!

As the movie states, "the most terrifying and amazing part of being a human being.. our capacity to move on". So, here I am, moving on.. But she is wonderful! Reason enough to watch. While tragic, she is ready for betterness and open minded. An excellent main character. Oh, and the music is also great! But a lack of a good core, and an ending I found particularly unsatisfying, keeps it from me loving it. Still, I enjoyed its potential and the great execution.

Everybody has songs which bring them back to specific times in their lives. For Harriet Gibbons (Lucy Boynton), it happens literally as she travels back in time. She is trying to save her boyfriend Max Enders (David Corenswet) from a deadly crash. She meets David Park (Justin H. Min) at her self-help group.

This has an intriguing elevator pitch from filmmaker Ned Benson. He has a few good ideas in this movie, but the premise needs more work. There are basic problems stemming from the concept. First, she needs to keep going back to the death moment. It only makes sense. It also doesn't help that Max is forced by the story to dismiss her at every turn. It makes him look bad as a boyfriend. The whole movie gets dragged down by many minor issues.

I thought the movie would have had a bit more adventure, as time travel was the main plot device. Over time the script became dull and a lot of the music was a distractor as opposed to tying in with the story. The writers needed to smooth out the rough edges on the script and simplify the story a bit. For example, the therapist, Harriet's best friend, and David's sister were useless characters who had nothing to contribute. I did appreciate the chemistry between David and Harriet, and that both characters suffered an immeasurable amount of grief.

If you're a record collector or someone who is a sucker for romantic movies that tug at your heart strings, you might like this. From my perspective, the fun moments were infrequent and forced. Think of the movie as a Powerpoint presentation that moves so quickly, that you don't have time to take in the details.