Movie Review: Goodrich

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A very charming dramedy. 

This film is a slice of life story about a man who has always had more time for work than for his family, trying to truly connect with his three kids (including one adult kid) for the first time. While this story is hardly anything new, it is told very well. This movie has a warm heart and real sweetness to it. None of this ever feels calculated or forced, but rather completely natural. This is especially true because the relationships between the characters do seem real. Even after we watch our main character do the wrong thing again and again, we can see that underneath all his flaws, he truly does love his family. The scenes between him and his adult daughter are especially moving. You can see that their relationship has been damaged by him not being there for her. Yet you can also see that there is no one in the world they love more than each other. It is this attention to the complexities of human relationships that makes this stand out above other similar fare. Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis as the father and the adult daughter have incredible chemistry with each other. This truly makes the relationship between the characters all the more real and moving to us. 

As I said before, the storyline is very familiar, and this does make the movie very predictable. The humor made me smile, but I wish that there had been a few laugh out loud moments as well. 

This film is only the second movie directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer (her first being the romantic comedy Home Again (2017)), who is the daughter of filmmakers Charles Shyer and Nancy Meyers. She even appeared in some of her parents' movies as a kid. 

This is a familiar but delightful movie.