A midlife crisis comedy-drama that finds its heart in Michael Keaton’s performance

The opening scene of Gutrich is as sudden for us as for its protagonist. Michael Keaton’s Andy Goodrich is startled awake by a late-night phone call from his wife, Naomi (Laura Benanti). Warning him not to rejoice, she tells him she’s enrolled in a 90-day rehab program. His first instinct is to assume she’s joking—not only did he notice that his wife didn’t come home that night, but was completely unaware that she was struggling with prescription pills. Suddenly, Naomi is the one who blows up, and she informs Andy that she’s leaving him too.

We are not privy to the circumstances of Andy’s life at this point, and to a certain extent, so is he. There is a breathlessness to Gutrichs first stretch as he tries to get a grip on things, and I worried that the film would never settle into a rhythm. But it does, as he does. The film’s emotional journey works because of its closeness to his experience, and a strong combination of comedy with heart is a powerful mix. It feels familiar, perhaps, but Familiarity is easy to forgive when a movie still delivers on its promises.

Goodrich tries to make his unconventional family dynamic a centerpiece

But that’s not what keeps me engaged

I introduce myself to writer-director Holly Mayer-Shear Gutrichs family dynamic as the primary selling point. Naomi is Andy’s second, much younger wife. They have two 9-year-old twins together, Billy (Vivian Lyra Blair) and Mose (Jacob Kopera), who suddenly become Andy’s responsibility in his wife’s absence. But he also has Grace (Milha Kunis), his daughter from his first marriage, who is married and pregnant with her first child.

At this critical moment in his personal life, and facing problems in the art gallery that was his true passion, Andy must confront the reality of his parents. Forced to grow up, he gradually learns how to be there for his young kids. And while he’s also spending time with Grace, he’s slow to recognize that changes are needed there, too. She approaches parents herself, she gets to watch how her much younger siblings begin to get the father they’d always wanted. Mayer-Shear lets us in on her quiet turmoil through Kunis, even though Andy doesn’t see it.

In fact, the whole situation is the most straightforward emotional arc of the film. The matter of fact with which it is presented may be a factor, which would be too Gutrichs credit. Meyer-Sheer has no intention of creating laughter or pathos at the expense of this family form. but, It is also easy to understand and predict; Where Grace and Andy are headed is evident from her first look of disappointment. Anyway, even if I was still swept up in it by the end, this thread wasn’t what sustained my interest.

Michael Keaton adds layers to his character arc

Andy’s development as a person is Goodrich’s best storyline

instead, Gutrich Get the most mileage out of Andy’s personal development. He is, as Grace notes, somewhat late to his midlife crisis, and he lacks the emotional tools to navigate it. Watching him adjust to his new responsibilities is also watching him learn how to deal with feelings, whether others or his own. That journey is as funny as it is engaging.

Keaton’s performance is at the heart of this success. He somehow conveys his character’s introspection as a layer beneath each scene, to the extent that in every interaction outside of a work setting, Andy seems to be discovering how to behave. It’s like he was dropped into the movie right when we were, snapped out of whatever illusion had been running him for so long and had to learn what was really going on with the people around him for the first time.

It makes for a generous, empathetic portrait of a certain kind of masculine, paternal archetype, one whose main sins are absence and unavailability. As a story of old reckoning, Gutrich Lacks the interrogative instinct of something like Sofia Coppola’s on the rocksAnd it rushes Grace’s catharsis as a result. But as a story of a man’s late-stage awakening, it strikes a more resonant chord.

Gutrich Friday the 18th of October is out exclusively in theaters. The film is 111 minutes long and is rated R for some language.