Good Grief

In his directorial debut, Dan Levy plays a happily married gay man who, after losing his husband, takes his two best pals to Paris without telling them the whole reason for the trip. Good Grief doesn't quite live up to its title, especially considering how many great films about grief have been made in the past few decades. The theme of how avoiding pain means also missing out on love has certainly been covered a lot better by films that don't choose to spell the idea out so directly. Still, spending time inside a piece of art or entertainment that wallows in sadness can be confronting when you are feeling sad yourself (though albums usually work better). Levy frequently cuts to his character making a sad face when he hears something poignant. This is touching the first three or four times, but by the twelfth, it becomes a bit ridiculous. Levy also forgot to write dimensional roles for the two friend characters. Ruth Negga, shall we say, overcompensates.