Believe it or not, the Canadian smash hit Schitt’s Creek ended nearly four years ago, and fans of co-creator, star, writer, and director Dan Levy have clamored for new material from him ever since. All this time later, with only a handful of acting appearances and one cooking competition show to his name, Levy seemed poised to reignite his creative side with Good Grief, his feature film debut as a writer, director, producer, and star. Whether or not his return satiates long-time fans will be a heavy matter of viewer patience and tolerance for familiarity.
‘Good Grief’ Plot Summary
Written and directed by Dan Levy in his first attempt at feature filmmaking, Good Grief follows a man’s journey through the stages of loss after the deaths of those closest to him. Accompanied by his two best friends, his weekend trip to Paris will be far more than just lighthearted fun for the trio.
Dan Levy Quickly Demonstrates His Director’s Eye
A combination of pleasant shots at Marc and Adam’s Christmas party in their London home make up the pre-title sequence of Good Grief, ending with a well-choreographed hand-held take that lands on the tragedy that incites the rest of the film’s plot. Put alongside moving funeral scenes, the opening stretch of this new Netflix movie sets up a promise to deliver heartrending drama that will stick with us after the credits roll.
But Good Grief continues long past its sad moments back into the mundanity of life. Marc tries to get on but cannot fully recover, moves through the stages of grief, goes to Paris, and tells us of his discoveries about the hard facts of life through platitudes and conversations that feel like one person’s extrapolations of interesting thematic material they want to explore. There is a lot of sitting, walking, talking, doing random unrelated things, and very little to connect the plot and themes to the conclusion of acceptance and moving on with life. When the viewer hits the credits, Good Grief strikes one as a waste of talent from Levy and his beloved, often exceptional co-stars Himesh Patel and Ruth Negga.
Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, and Himesh Patel in ‘Good Grief’
Is ‘Good Grief’ Really Good Grief?
More than almost any streaming film this season, determining whether someone will like Levy’s Good Grief is quite difficult. This movie is beautifully shot and features brilliant actors, scripted with a consistent focus on blending formless time progression with hefty themes about life and death. Though these aspects are technically adequate when taken separately, the flat result of combining them is much less than the sum of its parts, woefully undeserving of the creators behind it.
Few fans of Levy and Schitt’s Creek will love Good Grief. This is not a movie meant to blow anyone away, merely to transition its creator into a new medium with an attempt at emotional significance. As Good Grief goes on, the viewer cares less for everything in the film, not taking its meandering to any meaningful conclusion. Like the themes of this movie seem to try and point toward, life goes on, and whether we take anything from it is part of our journey.
Good Grief is streaming now on Netflix.
