Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton) is a businessman from Los Angeles who enjoys a life of luxury. He Ventures into a comprehensive scope of activities such as owning an art gallery, spending time in his luxurious home, or serving guests expensive whiskey all while having a personal babysitter to look after his twin infants. It comes as no wonder, then, why his wife Naomie (Laura Benanti) shocked him with a late-night phone call mid-way through the film’s introductory scene to inform him that she is at a rehab center for her prescription drug addiction. And that’s not all: she also revealed that she was absent from her side of the bed.
While watching the movie, what many would consider “unpleasant” wealth is something that kept me engrossed with how the permanent crisis in “Goodrich” was presented. Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s romantic comedy captures the ears and eyes of the audience with her elegant yet cheeky style and approach, something many would describe as delightful.
Meyer-Shyer had no problem setting up the various parts of the puzzle as she moved on to create “Home Again”, her reaction is quite similar to what many would term as remarkable and is underpinned by the notion that Witherspoon is quite in every way similar to Myers Shyer’s character as both of them are going through difficult changes in their lives.
Andy is a downright terrible husband and father as you can guess. He finally discovers the existence of his eight-year-olds: the introvert Mose (Jacob Kopera) and the advanced Billie (Vivien Lyra Blair) now that Naomie is gone from the film for about ninety days. While unaware of the truth about their mother Goodrich keeps deceiving them, he learns everything about them including their allergies, actively attends student-teacher meetings, forms a close bond with the kids’ classmate’s gay father Pete (Michael Urie), and enjoys movie nights with the kids. He also seems to have developed a strong friendship with the teacher. On the other side, Malik Kunis Grace, his pregnant daughter from his first marriage – is in active disbelief as Andy takes up the false role of the father to her.
Most of his life revolves around neglecting his family, and it’s hardly surprising that he wishes away the nine months in an effort to escape his current life. He now appears completely occupied as he tries to restart his struggling art gallery that is pushing toward foreclosure and attempts to obtain the estate of a now-deceased artist’s daughter (Carmen Ejogo). His housekeeper borders on being a little too snarky, and the kids’ private school is quite insistent and that’s just the tip of the financial problems. It seems to be the other side of the tracks.
These troubles are still emotionally familiar and easily relatable, and for that reason, I also heavily invested in this. What makes you think that someone wouldn’t be anxious about losing everything?
He is for instance, quite good at portraying older, regretful men (“Knox Goes Away”); however, he does have a little bit more room to advance this particular character. He presents Andy as a hardened charming rogue riddled with flaws but whose magnetism outweighs them. This is exactly why lightbulb moments like that of ‘I need to be a better father’, or in other words, the need to shake off one’s ‘Shrek’ persona, are so pleasant.
Meyers-Shyer also has leniency for transforming Andy’s ‘annoyance’ factor into charm simply because she believes in her cast. While Keaton captures the frame for our focus, Kunis effectively portrays the disappointment just underneath her supposedly charming character. With her subtle performance, Kunis renders it plausible why her character is so coarse around the edges. Andy hardly views Grace as anything other than Grace. The same may be said of how he does not regard Naomie, or even his former wife Anne Macdowell. Sometimes, she overacts that lack of transparency, leading to many questions like How would we see Andy(axeless) and not bore ourselves with the same storyline? Nevertheless, there is enough life in them to bear the film’s not-so-graceful transitions.
At times, the lighting is exaggerated; some characters, such as Pete, serve as tools to show Andy’s kindness. There is a strange IDF joke. Mostly, the music comes dangerously close to being overwrought and clichéd. But those injuries slide beneath the film’s strengths: tender moments of family interaction, a superb cast, and an impressive sense of fun (Keaton and Kunis get along so well it is hard to believe). Even in the last minutes of the film when there are one or two many warm-hearted speeches, it is challenging not to grab the tissues. ”Goodrich” is the kind of refreshingly positive adult comedy which is great to watch over and over again.
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