Westside Messenger - September 20th, 2020

PAGE 12 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - September 20, 2020
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Romantic comedy offers warmth and humor
The opening act of “The Broken Hearts
Gallery” unspools as if it were a setup for a
horror film: After a night of heavy drinking
that culminates in a public embarrassment,
an emotional young woman steps
into an idling vehicle she believes to be her
ordered ride. Rather than listen to the male
driver as he repeatedly tells her she
entered the wrong car, she tells him to shut
up, launches into her sob story and
demands to be taken home so she can be
comforted by her supportive roommates. As
he takes her to her destination, allegedly,
she receives a text from the actual driver of
the actual car she was supposed to claim.
Realizing her error, she looks at the wrong
driver as he glances into the rearview mirror,
they make eye contact, and she gives a
small scream.
“The Broken Hearts Gallery,” however,
is not a horror movie, though it does point
out quite capably the danger of the situation
through witty banter and barbed comments.
Instead, this is a new romantic comedy
and the interaction between the two
strangers is something they like to call a
“meet cute” but with a more potentially
endangering edge.
The contrivance of its opening could put
some off of this film immediately but that
would be a mistake — not as big as getting
into a cute stranger’s car, but a mistake
nonetheless. Despite its starting point, this
is a film that is full of charm, humor and
genuine warmth; it’s kind of the equivalent
of a comforting blanket that is a little
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frayed around the corners.
In the film, Geraldine Viswanathan, the
scene stealer from “Blockers” (2018) and
“Miracle Workers” (2019), plays Lucy
Gulliver, the emotional young woman who
gets into a stranger’s car and whose breakdown
propels him to do her bidding. When
her day started off, she was employed as an
assistant at an art gallery, dating a fabulous
and sophisticated older man named
Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar) and ready to
impress the notable curator Eva Woolf
(Bernadette Peters) at an exhibit later that
night. When it ends, however, she is without
a job, without a boyfriend and driving
around New York City with a mysterious
stranger and a growing headache to boot.
After wallowing in self-pity for several
weeks, she is encouraged by her roommates,
the lawyer Amanda (Molly Gordon)
and the “stay at home model” Nadine
(Phillipa Soo), to move on with her life, or
at least get in the shower. They also tell
her that she needs to get rid of the trinkets
she collected from her relationship with
Max, all potential triggers for her despite
them being odd things like ties and keys.
(Her collections are a plot thread throughout
the film).
While doing so, or at least trying to, she
runs into Max and his new flame and is
saved from another publicly embarrassing
scene by Nick (Dacre Montgomery), the
handsome stranger who safely got her
home. Feeling some sort of connection to
this man, Lucy follows him to an abandoned
hotel (she is sometimes full of bad
ideas) that he is struggling to rehab and
falls in love. Not with him, of course, or at
least not so soon, but with the potential of
the hotel. She is struck by an idea and runs
it by him: allow her space to run an exhibit
for purged relationship items, or a broken
Pet Corner
The Reel Deal
hearts gallery, and she will help him raise
enough funds to finish his money pit of a
project.
Desperate for any spark to breathe new
life into his dream hotel, he relents and the
two form a partnership which slowly
becomes a friendship. And because this is a
romantic comedy, you know what follows
after but with some twists along the path
toward eternal happiness.
Teetering on the verge of being too
cutesy at times, what balances this film is
the performances from all of the actors but
most notably the charming Viswanathan
and Montgomery. They make a great pair
and have such revolving chemistry that
they really sell their characters transition
from strangers to business partners to
friends to something more.
The one thing that will likely keep people
away from this film is that it is only
being released in theaters at this time. I’m
not advocating that people rush out to see
this — it would be a great stay-at-home
movie — but I feel pretty confident that the
theaters won’t be packed for this film as it
has barely received any advertising. Still,
it’s up to you to decide your comfort level at
the theaters, but if you should ever stumble
across this film in the future, be sure to
give it a chance. Its warmth and deft
humor could provide a bit of light if you
ever need a nice escape.
Grade: B
Dedra Cordle
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer
and columnist.
Fran is a petite 3-
year-old gray tabby
who likes to follow
you around. She
loves being the center
of attention and is
eager to find her forever
home. Fran is
spayed, microchipped and up to date on vaccines.
She is up for adoption through Colony
Cats and Dogs.
FYI: www.colonycats.org
My Fairy Lady is a
1-year-old orange
tabby who was left
behind when her
owner moved. She is
a little shy at first but
gets more playful and
trusting in time. My Fair Lady is spayed,
microchipped and up to date on vaccines.
Adopt her through Colony Cats.
FYI: www.colonycats.org
Cody is a naturally
playful, curious, and
trusting boy. He loves
to go out for daily
walks and loves to
cuddle with his people.
Cody is a deaf
dog. Just like other
dogs, deaf dogs learn
hand commands and
tricks. While they will
never have the same recall skills as a hearing
dog, they are just as trainable and obedient
and make great pets. Cody is available for
adoption at the Franklin County Dog Shelter.
FYI: www.franklincountydogs.com