“Elizabethtown. ““Dean.” “August: Osage County.” All somewhat recent cinematic efforts of the past several decades revolving around a person or two dealing with the passing of a family member, more often than not, accompanied by a return to their childhood home or small town that will itself become far more inevitably meaningful by film’s end. Directed by renaissance man Robert Schwartzman, having helmed such efforts as “Dreamland,” “The Unicorn,” and “The Argument” in addition to fronting indie group Rooney and appearing onscreen as the dreamboat love interest in “The Princess Diaries,” there’s a smattering of ambition present throughout his latest project “The Good Half, “one that can easily find itself in line with the contemporaries above but can’t help but repeatedly trip over its storytelling shoelaces in the process.
READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 50 Must-See Films To Watch
Nick Jonas takes center stage as Renn, an office worker by day while simultaneously pursuing his eventual goal of success as a writer; as seen via repeated flashbacks, his youth was spent alongside his mother, Lily (Elisabeth Shue), with whom he shared a close relationship. Unfortunately, as is also revealed sometime during the first act, Lily has succumbed to cancer, an event that’s brought Renn back home to assist with funeral arrangements alongside dealing with his icy sibling Leigh (Brittany Snow), father (and Lily’s ex) Darren (Matt Walsh) as well as Lily’s second husband Rick (David Arquette), somehow a character only David Arquette could play. Along for the ride is Zoey (Alexandra Shipp), that ever-necessary Manic Pixie Dream Girl Renn meets on his flight home in a manner eerily similar to that of “Elizabethtown” and who might show up every once in a while when the story needs a break from any number of scenes showing Renn’s awkward conversations with Leigh, Darren, Rick or all three.
It’s hard to say to what degree the cast is giving it their best, as Brett Ryland’s screenplay won’t set the literary world on fire by any means but never reaches any particularly offensive depths, either. One issue does lie in Renn, who hardly receives a moment to establish any significant foundation as to his character and, as a result, can’t help but produce a feeling of confusion when his persona shifts from sullen and sarcastic around his grieving family to outgoing and full of playful snark whenever he joins Zoey for a drink or a bizarre round of karaoke. Could this be his own way of coping? These jumps in character consistently feel a bit too jarring, though they seem to accompany the film’s pseudo-meditation on grief. Ultimately, the film falls short of achieving that goal, instead existing as a strange assortment of scenes, each dealing with grief but somehow failing to find connective tissue while occasionally drifting into the land of the meet-cute or yet another needle drop. There’s even a casket selection scene that manages to make a similar moment in “Elizabethtown” far more upbeat by comparison, and you’d be forgiven if the job promotion Renn has been considering goes forgotten until shortly before the credits roll; wait, wasn’t Orlando Bloom’s character in the aforementioned Cameron Crowe non-classic also dealing with a significant work dilemma back home? Is this secretly some remake?
That notion, thankfully, is doubtful in nearly every way, and in a possible attempt to stand out further, Schwartzman takes some filmmaking swings in the editing department by using some scene-to-scene transitional shots that feel more like a showoff flex than a storytelling assist. Walsh, fortunately, brings over his “Brigsby Bear” energy effortlessly, and Snow is perfectly fine as she struggles with playing second fiddle to Renn, the favorite child. Still, Shipp’s presence couldn’t feel any more useless. As David Arquette as David Arquette might be, his character does tee up a truly baffling scene in the film’s final moments involving some comedic break-in; “Nebraska” did something similar and far better.
There’s not much more to say, as the film predictably concludes with a tighter family unit, unsurprising in the wake of a loss. There may be further potential in Nick Jonas’ acting career, and maybe Schwartzman has something better up his sleeve down the road. It’s still a pleasure to see Elisabeth Shue add another credit to the back of her headshot, with the reliable actress doing what she can with a paint-by-numbers character she could presumably portray in her sleep. This might be the best way to describe “The Good Half,” a casserole of vignettes that never quite mesh, with a taste as unoriginal as they come. [C-]