Two years ago, Megan Griffiths wrote and directed Eden, a film that deals with human trafficking in America. Now she had directed a comedy, using a script written by Emily Wachtel and Huck Botko (from an original idea by Caroline Sherman). While I admired the first film, I find myself loving the second.
It starts 10 years ago, when Matthew Smith, the greatest singer-songwriter in Seattle, doesn’t show up for his last gig. The event is narrated in voiceover by Collette’s character, Ellie Klug. We then switch to the present day, where Collette is a rock critic who seems more interested in bedding new talent than meeting her deadlines. Her boss Giles (Oliver Platt) warns her that he can’t keep her on if she keeps producing sub par work. He then assigns her a story on Smith, who vanished that night and is presumed dead, but like Elvis, is still sighted everywhere. He even gives her company money in order to follow-up on a claimed sighting on the Internet, complete with a video that could be of anyone.
In the meantime, she has found another fresh talent, the baby-faced Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold). Though she promises him a feature article, she shelves in it favor of the Smith article. Lucas won’t be easily deterred, in both the article and his affections for Ellie. In one of her confrontations with him, she leaves the money Giles gave her behind. Though he tries to give it back to her, she won’t answer his phone calls. Then she realizes the money is gone.
Enter Charlie (Thomas Haden Church), an old, rich friend of Ellie’s. He is actually introduced a bit earlier in the movie, so that we can see why Ellie would be hesitant in asking him for a loan. He’s a bit annoying and a bit odd. Still, she is desperate, so he loans her the money on the condition that he can come along and film a documentary about her search for Smith. This is a neat plot device, as it allows Ellie to talk about her past with Smith, and it shows that she’s never gotten over him.
If Collette brings heart to this movie, Church brings laughs. I have never seen him better than I have in this film. His dry delivery steals every scene he’s in, while he also manages to give Charlie some humanity.
What makes this film special, though, is its combination of excellent dialog, great chemistry between Collette and Church, a sense of humor, and heart. And the acting! There is a scene late in the film that is one of the most poignant I’ve seen all year, and it’s due entirely to acting. In fact, besides the dialog, the acting is the best thing about Lucky Them. That is a credit not just to the actors and actresses, but to Griffiths. I sincerely hope this is the film that introduces her to the mainstream.
And make sure you stay for the credits.
Lucky Them played at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival. It’s currently available on video on demand and plays for two weeks at the Northwest Film Forum starting tonight.
You can also read my post on the film from SIFF 2014.
Murmurs from the Balcony 