It looked like a sure thing. "Driving Miss Daisy" in the 70's and 80's in California. Eddie Murphy must have jumped at the chance to be part of what seemed like surefire Oscar-bait. And the acting is not bad. Eddie Murphy is the clear standout, although he doesn't have much to work with. Natasha McElhone really classes up the first third of the movie (as you may know from the preview, she doesn't last too long). Even Britt Robertson is fun to watch, although her character is one of passivity - things happen for her and to her, there is not much that she takes an active role in. She explains in the film that after her mother was gone, she "lost her way" but it's never clear she has much of a way to begin with. Plenty of interesting characters with potential.
The real problem is the writing. None of the people that we meet are fleshed out fully and are end up tropes of people we've seen before. Dying Cancer Mom. Independent Daughter Who Never Knew She Needed a Dad. "Magical Negro." Mr. Church's life and motivations are a mystery, never even fully resolved at the end of the film - why? The film hints toward the beginning about some great reveal as to why Mr. Church has come to live with Marie and Charlie, but there is never any satisfying payoff. The narration from Robertson's character is annoying to the point of distraction at points in the film, bless her for not laughing her way through hackneyed narrative like "my mother was the sun, Mr. Church was the moon..." Most everything is predictable and telegraphed, or sometimes plot points are telegraphed with little resolution. Mr. Church goes to that "naughty" jazz club twice a week and also somehow plays a mean jazz piano...OMG, what to make of that? Sounds like an important life choice to keep secret from the only people in your life!
This smacked of an important story about a non-traditional family, but ended up being a glurgy mess.
The real problem is the writing. None of the people that we meet are fleshed out fully and are end up tropes of people we've seen before. Dying Cancer Mom. Independent Daughter Who Never Knew She Needed a Dad. "Magical Negro." Mr. Church's life and motivations are a mystery, never even fully resolved at the end of the film - why? The film hints toward the beginning about some great reveal as to why Mr. Church has come to live with Marie and Charlie, but there is never any satisfying payoff. The narration from Robertson's character is annoying to the point of distraction at points in the film, bless her for not laughing her way through hackneyed narrative like "my mother was the sun, Mr. Church was the moon..." Most everything is predictable and telegraphed, or sometimes plot points are telegraphed with little resolution. Mr. Church goes to that "naughty" jazz club twice a week and also somehow plays a mean jazz piano...OMG, what to make of that? Sounds like an important life choice to keep secret from the only people in your life!
This smacked of an important story about a non-traditional family, but ended up being a glurgy mess.