Age of Panic 

Netflix’s new comedy drama, Don’t Say Good Luck, is a heartwarming tearjerker as well as a love letter to the transformative power of being a theater kid. Directed by Julia Hart, Don’t Say Good Luck follows Sophie (Sunny Sandler), a theater kid who finally gets the lead role in her school’s production of Waitress - just as she finds out her mom Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey) is dying of cancer. While the singing is by no means spectacular and Sandler’s acting is stiff, the film is grounded in the moving performance of Lynskey as a mother who wants nothing more than for her daughter to achieve her dreams, even if she can’t be there to see them.

Considering the runtime, I expected each scene to hit harder as opposed to a series of montages and vignettes. 

As noted in the headline, I didn’t like this movie. Not to say it’s the worst thing ever, but it’s just…meh. Nothing much to it. Very generic. No surprises. At the very least, the cast is diverse so I’ll give it that.

Queen & Slim is a nice example of representation in both cast and crew

This story solidified my choices to consume a more plant-based diet and nearly made me cancel my subscriptions to big corporations like Amazon. The narrative was perfectly crafted and on par with Bong Joon-Ho’s other major works; Parasite and Snowpiercer.

Omaha reminds us of what it can feel like to look at old family photographs.  You sit with the bittersweetness, allowing it to wash over you; not drowning in it, but certainly affected by it.