25/37
Synopsis
A woman puts her career on hold to become a stay-at-home mom, but soon her life takes a surreal turn
It was originally slated to be released live on Hulu, but due to strong reception to its pilot previews, Searchlight Pictures decided to give it a wide theatrical release instead.
Reference to Saturday Night Live: Jean Smart/Jelly Roll (2024)
Riding Carousel”Performed by Alexander McCabeWritten by Alexander McCabe.
Rating – 52: Overall, a pretty poor film that just feels like it was made for a Booktok; Amy Adams can only do so much considering how silly the story is, despite its strong messages about the struggles of motherhood
Direction – Pretty Bad: The direction on the macro scale is very simple and pleasant, making it feel like this film was made specifically for a "Booktok" ; the direction on the micro scale is very bland, forced, and simple; the narration is incredibly simple and bland, as it reads as if a mother is reading this story back to meStory – Bad: The idea is actually very stupid, and it’s obvious that this movie was made for Booktok; because the book is a ‘Booktok’ book; not only is the concept stupid, but they do a poor job of presenting it and showing its importance, as it seems like just a small detail throughout the movie; the plot structure is very simple and straightforward; the character writing is pretty good, although very open-ended, as the main character is a symbol of the struggle with motherhood and how it’s okay not to be a perfect mother Screenplay – Pretty Bad: The dialogue is simple, bland, and written as if it were for "Booktok" ; the dialogue is so bad that literally in the first 20 minutes of the movie there is a scene where the main character says “I’m a night bitch”.
Climax – The climax is pretty forced Tone – The tone is very similar to how this film was made for “The Book” Final Notes – Saw the premiere at the Austin Film Festival; It’s obvious who this film is for, I’m clearly not the target demographic; This was supposed to be the movie that saved Amy Adams, not destroyed her
; the humor is good, but very forced; The symbolism is deep because the entire film is about the struggles of motherhood and the acceptance that no one is a model mother or person; the foreshadowing is only there because the film is so formulaic Acting – Pretty good: Amy Adams – Good (her performance is only good because she’s Amy Adams; she has no one to work with), Scoot McNairy – Pretty good (has pretty good chemistry with Adams and does a great job of showcasing her one-sided dynamic), Rest of the cast – Decent (Many of the background actors who are great are mostly just supporting Adams) Cinematography – Decent: Simple Editing – Decent: Simple Visual Effects – Pretty Bad: Quite Sticky Pace – The pace is a bit slow as the narrative moves the story forward.
