6/10
Love is a sleigh ride to hell.
23 February 2024
Fun yet disappointing. It's a b-movie that's a raunchy, adventurous lesbian comedy-drama road trip. So creatively it sorta has a lot going for it. It has some funny bits, but it's not as fun and funny as i thought it'd be. It is a pleasant contrast to most self-consciously serious movies out there currently though. The movie had these transitions that reminded me of That 70's show; using graphics or clips that felt out of place to segue between scenes.

The actors seemed like they belonged to different films, which makes sense considering the main actresses, Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, were accidentally thrust into a criminal world. While the two girls treated their roles with a playful, unserious tone, Colman Domingo and Senator Matt Damon took their roles seriously, like actual gangsters despite the unserious and amusing dialogue. The headline "Senator shot outside lesbian bar" was funny. The goons fully embraced the movie's absurdity, while Pedro Pascal appeared to be in a different film entirely. His opening scene had felt very comic-bookish, and Miley Cyrus was in these psychedelic scenes that are later explained.

It's a movie that doesn't take itself seriously at all, and I think that works in its favor. Yet, I find myself slightly disappointed, thinking what the film could have been. As I said, creatively it had a lot going for it, but doesn't feel like it tried to push the envelope at all. It could've been a lighthearted 'Saltburn', or it could've been more goofy and funny, or way more vulgar and chaotic, or it could've been really thrilling like if some of the bad guys were actually frightening and intimidating. The girls never felt like they were in any danger. It feels like they could've pushed the movie in different directions but instead it's somewhere meddling in the middle. The movie played it safe.

The plot meanders through ridiculous scenarios on a purposeless road trip, intentional in its pointlessness. It is a short movie, but I also think there were some conversations that didn't really add much; scenes that wouldn't make much difference if removed. Jamie and Marian weren't the most interesting of characters and didn't have much of a spark. Their relationship could've been written better.

The movies not too terrible, I just think it had the potential to be more fun, funny and charming. Something that would light you up. The movie exudes pizazz but feels like it's missing it at the same time.
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