Yahoo Movies Netflix's Good Grief is an affecting showcase for Dan Levy's talent
Schitt's Creek fans will be excited for Daniel Levy's return to Netflix, but they might not get what they're exactly expecting from Good Grief.
The movie marks Levy's feature debut not just as a director, but also as a writer and producer. With him taking on the lead role too, it's clearly a story that's personal to Levy and born out of his own experiences of love and loss.
Good Grief sees Levy play Marc, an artist who has never really come to terms with his mother's death. All of his focus went instead on his husband Oliver (Luke Evans), moving away from his own art to illustrate for Oliver's successful series of books that have been turned into a huge movie series.
But Marc's life is turned upside-down one Christmas when Oliver unexpectedly dies in an accident. A year later, as Marc is still living in his grief, a surprise revelation changes everything and he heads on a soul-searching trip to Paris with his best friends Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel).
While Good Grief might not be a comedy like Schitt's Creek, there are similarities in the way they Levy writes his characters in all their messy glory. They feel authentic and their connections with each other feel natural and, especially with his gay characters, there is no archetype here.
There is sometimes an issue with the way the characters interact with each other though. Where a TV show offered several seasons for Levy to build David and Patrick into not just one of TV's best-ever gay relationships, but one of TV's best-ever relationships, Levy doesn't quite get the balance right here.
At times, characters have conversations that are contrived in a way to move the story forward or their particular arc forward. It doesn't lessen the impact of the words, especially when it comes to Marc confronting his grief, but it often jars and is when Good Grief loses its authenticity.
The blend of genres doesn't always work either. While it's mostly an emotional drama about adult friendships and unresolved grief, there's also rom-com flourishes like dark secrets revealed and holiday flings which, again, feel manufactured rather than organic. He does at least resist a last-minute dash to the airport though.
That being said, Good Grief remains an affecting showcase of Levy's considerable talents, both in-front and behind the camera. It's no surprise he pitches Marc perfectly, given he wrote the character, but he also allows the room for the supporting cast to shine.
Himesh Patel and Ruth Negga get the most to do as Marc's closest friends who reflect his flaws back to Marc. Patel's Thomas is guarded and deadpan, while Negga's Sophie is chaotic and oblivious, with all three learning as they confront the never-said issues in their friendship.
There's also several strong minor appearances, led by David Bradley as Oliver's father Duncan who gets the movie's most heartbreaking speech at the funeral. Kaitlyn Dever and Emma Corrin also pop up in fun cameo turns as an obnoxious Hollywood star and a performance artist, respectively.
Good Grief might not be perfect, but as a debut feature, it promises great things in Daniel Levy's future filmmaking career.
Good Grief is available to watch now on Netflix.
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