A Dramedy That Could Use a Bit More “medy”

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MOVIE REVIEW
Simchas and Sorrows
–

Genre: Comedy, Drama
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 57m
Director(s): Genevieve Adams
Writer(s): Genevieve Adams
Cast: Genevieve Adams, Thomas Mcdonell, Hari Nef, Luke Forbes, Julie Halston, Greg Bello, Annelise Cepero, Billy Calder, Lucy Morris, Chip Zien, John Cullum
Where To Watch: on all Digital | VOD platforms on Tuesday, September 20th

A lot of potentials that I ultimately felt was left on the table. I enjoyed the film, but I feel like this could’ve been incredible had a few pieces fallen into place differently. Ultimately the runtime may have been a bit too long for the subject it covered. Those are the most significant negatives I have against the film.

I enjoyed the idea of the storyline and its ultimate resolution. I often felt the influence of Greta Gerwig while watching the film. Not only does the film's director/writer/star Genevieve Adams bear a resemblance to Gerwig, but the film itself has a unique mix of humor and drama similar to Gerwig’s style she made famous in LADY BIRD (and that she directed) and her various roles over the years.

Adams took on quite the workload in this film, and I feel that may have worked against them in the run. While the film itself is semi-autobiographical, it honestly gave the film a strength that any film telling this story would have a hard time matching. Reading Adams's story about their experience made this story much more powerful. I don’t want to excuse away the issues I had with the film, but the story's importance overcame some hurdles that the first-time director hit.

While I am not religious, I know some who practice the Jewish faith. This line from the director's statement specifically struck me like a ton of bricks “All of us involved in this project feel a particular urgency to tell this story right, and to tell it right now, as we struggle to metabolize the myriad threats that modern Judaism faces during this volatile, divisive and distressing period in American history.”

I wish that Adams would’ve taken the dark comedy aspect of the film and expanded on it similarly to how SHIVA BABY did. I think that makes the subject more accessible to a larger group of people. Ultimately though, maybe that wasn’t the goal. I will say that I haven’t stopped thinking about the film after finishing it; this one will remain with me for some time.

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