Metrics
Genre:
Hollywood, Drama, Family
Rating:
7.7 /10
Audience:
Adults, probably. Pretty emotional, lots of introspection.
Rewatch Time:
Maybe once every few years to see if you get anything new out of it. 1h45.
Winner:
Mary Adler (McKenna Grace)
Review
Wow yeah, pretty good movie. It's a little weird seeing Chris Evans as anything other than Captain America, but he keeps his honest, good-natured face with Frank Adler. His interactions with Mary are really cute, and they have really great chemistry. McKenna Grace is crazy good for a child actor in drama. Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) is the biggest part apart from those two, and I think she's played pretty well, which makes me absolutely hate her that much more. Bad parenting in movies really really triggers me. But yeah Frank's story was really well done, and I have to say he's ridiculously well adjusted (although that might just be the captain america residue). The music was nice, the dialogue was pretty good, and I thought the direction was interesting too. There's a lot of heart and a real debate as to how to treat a kid's potential, and all the math scenes are pretty cool. It's definitely important to see what makes the difference in these arguments, and I think Frank's sincerity is the most important thing to take away. Fred the Cat gets extra points because Mary loves him.
Spoiler Territory
The shadow of Mary's mom was important, and the reveal at the end was definitely awesome. I definitely thought that Evelyn got a way better ending than she deserved, and that Frank should have absolutely dunked on her. But I guess that's his charm. Bonnie (Jenny Slate) was pretty funny and important in the first half, but she fades a bit in the finale. Roberta (Octavia Spencer) is really nice as well, and helped share information with the audience without exposition. Plus her karaoke scene was funny.