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ALMOST LOVE
Director: Mike Doyle Cast: Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Michelle Buteau, Zoe Chao, Kate Walsh, Colin Donnell, Christopher Gray, Patricia Clarkson, Chaz Lamar Shepherd MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:34 Release Date: 4/3/20 (digital & on-demand) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | April 2, 2020 In Almost Love, writer/director Mike Doyle doesn't trust the potential of his central romance, and that's a shame. It features two men, who have been dating for five years and find themselves in a rut, born of regrets and resentments that gradually have been blown out of proportion. Doyle eventually focuses on that relationship almost exclusively, but by the time the movie arrives there, it has overburdened itself with side characters and subplots that ultimately don't matter. At first, the movie establishes itself as an ensemble piece about a series of characters, all of them friends, in New York City. The unlucky-in-love Cammy (Michelle Buteau) has started dating Henry (Colin Donnell), and he can no longer keep his big secret: He's homeless. There's a lot of judgement for his misfortune from Cammy's friend Haley (Zoe Chao), who's not too much better herself. She's tutoring the 17-year-old Scott James (Christopher Gray), who has a massive crush on her. Haley actually seems partially open to the idea of moving forward with a guy who's technically still a minor. The last of the side players are Liz (Kate Walsh) and her husband Damon (Chaz Lamar Shepherd), who have been married for 15 years. Their marriage comes across a rough patch, but like the rest of these particular stories, it doesn't really matter. The whole of these often uncomfortable (joking about homelessness and Haley's openness to something with her pupil) and underdeveloped subplots are held together by Adam (Scott Evans), an artist who earns a living painting pieces for a more famous one (played, in a brief cameo, by Patricia Clarkson), and Marklin (Augustus Prew), who runs a popular fashion website. Adam feels undermined that his partner is more financially successful than him, and Marklin wants Adam to get over that and to finally make a serious commitment. It's a solid story about how a long-term relationship has changed with time and the comfort of routine and a lack of real communication, so why, then, does Doyle feel the need to sidestep it so often with these other characters and their joke-focused problems? Almost Love feels like the work of a filmmaker who wants to tell one story but, for whatever reason, isn't comfortable enough to commit to that story. There's too much unnecessary filler, and as a result, the romance worth exploring suffers for it. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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