Lucky Them is the best thing Toni Collette has done in years
REVIEW: A cleverly written and subtly engrossing combo of romantic comedy and road movie, Lucky Them is also the best Toni Collette has been in a movie for several years.
Leigh Paatsch
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leigh Paatsch. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Lucky Them (M)
Director: Megan Griffiths (Eden)
Starring: Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, Nina Arianda.
Rating : ***1/2
An old flame, a new spark and a wide open road
-------------------------------------------------------------
A cleverly written and subtly engrossing combo of romantic comedy and road movie, Lucky Them is also the best Toni Collette has been in a movie for several years.
She plays Ellie, a veteran music journalist who career has hit a number of bum notes.
Her rivals are younger, cooler, faster and online 24/7. And the music itself just isn’t what it used to be. No wonder Ellie keeps missing deadlines.
Faced with a choice of giving up or getting with it, Ellie reluctantly accepts a make-or-break assignment from her exasperated editor (Oliver Platt).
Her mission is to track down and reconnect with one of her most famous discoveries, reclusive Seattle rock legend Matthew Smith. Who also just happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
An amateur documentary filmmaker named Charlie (Thomas Haden Church) tags along to capture whatever will (or will not) happen for posterity.
It turns out that what happens between Ellie and Charlie as they embark on an aimless odyssey in a rented RV is the real story powering Lucky Them.
The rare conversational spark immediately seized upon by Collette and Church from their first scenes together here is a pleasure to witness, and the best reason to catch this movie.
The second best reason? Finding out who plays the mysterious Matthew Smith. Don’t look it up on the internet, whatever you do.
*** for more reviews, news and updates, followLeigh PaatschonTwitter at @leighpaatschand onInstagram at leighpaatsch ***
Originally published as Lucky Them is the best thing Toni Collette has done in years
Mad About the Boy is best Bridget Jones film since the first
Bridget Jones has lost a husband and gained a younger lover but Renee Zellweger brings heart and humour to Mad About the Boy in a return to form for the rom-com series, writes Leigh Paatsch.
Timely take on Munich Olympics terrorist crisis
The edge-of-your-seat factual drama September 5 takes viewers behind the scenes in one of the Olympic Games’ darkest hours with a message that still resonates today.