Grief has been explored in film time and time again, sometimes to the medium’s emotional heights and depths. It’s a shame, then, that The Good Half doesn’t particularly add anything to that canon. Shot with a reserved visual style and paced like molasses, Robert Schwartzman’s fourth feature is a thoroughly pedestrian drama that has no unique insights on the subject matter, despite utilizing a number of cliches that have served it in the past, though with a much stronger voice at the helm.
The story sees an emotionally distant writer, Renn (Nick Jonas, we’ll get to him), forced to reckon with his strained familial relationships after his mother (Elisabeth Shue) passes away. This includes his sister (Brittany Snow), his father (Matt Walsh), and his mother’s second husband (David Arquette). Along the way, he has a chance encounter with therapist Zoey (Alexandra Shipp), who becomes a fast friend and confidante in his journey with grief. The film cuts back and forth between the past and present, highlighting Renn’s unique relationship with his mother that ultimately ended on a sour note after she was diagnosed with cancer.
During the film’s World Premiere Q&A, first-time writer and producer Brett Ryland spoke about the film being based on his own experiences, which he wove into a narrative described as “wish fulfillment.” This may describe why the film feels almost entirely devoid of compelling external conflict and, thus, dramatic momentum; everything seems to happen to the characters, not because of them. This leaves solely the internal conflict to reckon with, seemingly difficult truths for the characters to face that any audience member understands within the first few sequences.
Renn is a particularly frustrating lead character, a thinly veiled self-insert for Ryland (not a good look for him, ultimately) and a witty but resentful intellectual who, like all the best on-screen writers, doesn’t write a single damn word throughout the entire runtime. He is, of course, portrayed by pop superstar Nick Jonas, who sports a far-too-likable persona to be playing such a middling prick. The film seems to be built around him, yet Jonas does not have nearly enough screen presence to carry an entire drama on his back, despite a welcome vulnerability towards the third act.
He is woefully miscast, but the character himself is not especially strong either. Quick with a witticism but hurtful in how he hurls them, he is the conventional “hurt people hurt people” archetype that anyone can see through almost immediately. Yet, the film comes to this conclusion toward the end with a sly clarity, thoroughly self-satisfied. The one saving grace of this slog is Alexandra Shipp as Zoey, Renn’s love interest, a burst of energy and honesty that salvages any scene she is in – though she comes so deviously close to being a manic pixie dream girl that you half-expect her to shower Jonas in magical dust.
The remaining cast are all solid, as seasoned actors typically are, but none of them are explored with a great enough depth to feel truthful. This feels especially true for Elisabeth Shue as Lily, Renn’s mother, who is immediately charming in small doses but, as a flawed character, is largely left to the imagination. The film balances the drably-colored present with comparatively technicolor flashbacks showing Renn’s difficulty in processing her diagnosis and second marriage. However, it’s all in starts and stops, individual vignettes steeped in an awkward tension that translates as cinematically lifeless.
In its attempts to tonally balance pointed snark with woeful grieving, the film ultimately lands in a confusing place of ambivalence. Minus a few moments of hijinks, the film’s comedic voice is hollow, a watered-down deadpan comedy that stretches for jokes more often than not. The film’s excessive needle drops do more to steer the emotions of a scene than the actual dialogue, which, while not poorly written in and of itself, leaves little impression. The Good Half does just that: leaves little impression. There are far worse films out there – in fact, the film is totally harmless – but you could argue it’s better for a film to have left you feeling something than to have left you feeling nothing.
The Good Half had its World Premiere as part of the Spotlight Narrative section at the 2023 Tribeca Festival. It is currently seeking distribution.
Director: Robert Schwartzman
Writer: Brett Ryland
Rated: NR
Runtime: 110m
Robert Schwartzman’s newest feature is a dramatically lifeless, comedically forced self-insert story that has no unique insights to provide about grief or family.
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GVN Rating 3.5
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Larry Fried is a filmmaker, writer, and podcaster based in New Jersey. He is the host and creator of the podcast “My Favorite Movie is…,” a podcast dedicated to helping filmmakers make somebody’s next favorite movie. He is also the Visual Content Manager for Special Olympics New Jersey, an organization dedicated to competition and training opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the Garden State.