User Reviews

Definitely fits into the underwhelming category based on the well known writing capability of Dan Levy. I liked the concept, but don't think it delivered. The opening segment was anticlimactic and didn't illicit the expected empathy, it was almost like "okay... now what". And the now what, was three self obsessed people pretending to be friends and having mostly meaningless conversations. The characters were all for the most part unlikeable, and therefore it didn't matter to me if they got "happy endings" and dealt with their hangups. Overall, okay, no depth to characters or story. I feel no need to ever watch again.

In Good Grief, Dan Levy creates a morose take on the rom-com, dealing head-on with the different ways grief affects people. The idea is strong in that it's different, and maybe even innovative, to try to place grief at the center of a film like this--but it would have taken a more deft hand and a little more digging to make this work. I think Levy might have served himself better had he chosen someone else to play the lead. Then he could have given that actor more challenging scenes to work with, maybe even had him struggle with sorrow and loss. Instead, the film comes off as the story of a pampered man who seems to lack depth. There needed to be more of an idea than: three friends go to Paris with what seems like an endless expense account to shake off the blues.

Passion is the yin to grief's yang--and this film lacks passion. We sense no real sparks between Levy and Evans early in the film, and even less when he mets the French Theo in Paris. When we see two actors kissing passionately, we need to feel the heat, feel that they can barely control themselves in the moment. Levy does not seem up to it and that affects the whole film. His sadness is more like that of a person who didn't get the table he wanted in a tony restaurant.

There was a better film hiding in here.

Dan Levy steps behind the cameras for a solemn yet ardent look at grief and unexpected loss. Levy goes slightly against his "Schitt's Creek"-persona to try and convey an emotional and sincere character study and despite a rocky start the film finds its groove and gets quite moving particularly in the third act. Solid directing, lush cinematography showing a glorious Paris at Christmas. Still, quite a bit of the premise and writing is pretentious, unrelatable and unrealistic - can we ever get a film like this where the characters have regular jobs? Levy is sturdy in the lead, Himesh Patel is quite good but appears stuck in a different film whilst Ruth Negga is grating to say the least - her character is already in contention for one of the worst in 2024. She comes close to ruining the movie with her vain, selfish and unlikable character. Solid debut!

Good Grief delivers a compelling narrative with Dan Levy's standout performance stealing the spotlight. He knows what he is doing and what he wants to achieve and he does that well, with raw, honest emotions. His portrayal is both captivating and, at times, a tad obnoxious, but if it is part of the storytelling, I accept it.

The storytelling is enriched by a well-curated musical backdrop. I love the music.

However, the subplot involving his female friend feels somewhat disjointed, lacking the depth that could have enhanced the overall experience. It's a little bit too much, for my taste.

While the film offers a love story, it falls short of exploring the characters' personalities and stories in a more profound manner.

The directing is quite good, image and general aesthetic are qualitative, acting decent, the dialogues bring at time some sort of accuracy; I liked the promise behind the synopsis and what the letter brings.

However it doesn't deliver properly, I have not been fully satisfied with any of the aspects of the development, of the characters. Even though it sometimes felt right, the whole thing was a bit tasteless, seen before and didn't drag me into the story.

It's as shame, as many ingredients were there to make a good movie, but it is just average and a bit cringy at times. I liked that the romance was treated as a normal romance rather than gay stereotypes, but I would have enjoyed a better development. The secondary characters aren't especially likable, and some moments or conversations just didn't felt right.

I don't know if it should have been spiced up a bit or just more focused but the result wasn't pleasant enough to want me to watch it again sometimes. I like movies about grief and overcoming it, but they should also uplift and bring some more feel-good to finish it with satisfaction.

SO ... it's a decent movie, and I love how we can now have well known actors in actual mainstream movie productions that is not considered a "B" movie (budget movie for those ...) HOWEVER! It's extremely frustrating when gay men and gay culture are depicted and portrayed as cheating, having open marriages, throuples, being promiscuous, or anything that paints us in yet more unfavorable light! It just reiterates to the general public that we are sexually deviant, weird, abnormal, and the stereotypical queer which is the opposite of the light that we need painted in art this time ... in MY opinion!

Muted to a fault, Good Grief gets a lot of points for offering a mature look at the struggle to move on from a heartbreaking tragedy. However, it feels like that same level of restraint hinders the film almost as much as it helps, preventing it from truly being the emotionally resonant story that's in here somewhere.

Dan Levy gives a good lead performance that definitely doesn't feel showy or excessively vain which is nice. Similar to everything else though, it does feel like he's holding back a little too much. On the other hand, Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel are really good at maintaining that restraint whilst still having grander moments where they can let everything out.

The greatest strengths of Dan Levy's direction lies in the strong opening and how it can further emphasise his character's grief through the slow pace and clinical visual style. It doesn't really look like a film but regardless of that it can still look gorgeous, helped by being set exclusively in Paris and London.

A really perfectly balanced film. It would have been so easy to play it safe and make a typical 'bubblegum' movie, with guaranteed well rehearsed tropes and clichés. So I admire Dan Levy's restraint, and that he took a risk with a more subtle approach. It isn't, as I imagined, a romcom, rather, a gentle exploration of grief, friendship and complicated legacies. I found it quite emotive without sentimentality. I loathe feeling manipulated by film makers- when the music, sappiness and script so deliberately and blatantly are working their formulaic chops off in a contrived effort to control every reaction a viewer is having.

While I wasn't 'blown away' by this film, I was impressed and engaged. I suspect/hope that Levy will continue to create as well as act, and be a well regarded director/writer in his own right.

Finally, the performances were great and the chemistry between the 3 friends felt authentic. The script could have been sharper and, as much as I usually love Luke Evans, I thought his performance in this perhaps the weakest of all the cast. But these a minor criticisms. I understand it if isn't what some people drawn to the film were hoping/expecting , and can understand some disappointment. But, for me, it was just right in tone and I think Dan Levy will go from strength to strength.

Have you ever experienced the loss of your partner in your life? Have you tried to find fault with others in order to better cope with the situation? How much did your friends help you get through this stage in your life, and how important were they to you during this time? Is there a time frame for how long a person should grieve a loss? These are the questions you will ask yourself while watching Good Grief. Dan Levy's directorial debut, in which he has put a significant part of his story, is an unorthodox romantic drama that touches closely on the themes of love, grief, forgiveness, reconciliation and new beginnings.

People are looking at this movie in a weird way. It is an original love story, regarding two people, and the *most complications you can fit into a love story while holding it all together. It, has the least amount of tropes for this category of film, and draws you in emotionally on several different levels.

Here is where the reviews start to slant. It's what I've heard as a "gay-mance" movie. Meaning a romantic film involving lovers of the same sex (in case you don't know). But if Dan Levi was played by Rachel McCadams, this would be better than The Notebook; and I hope someone tells Dan Levi that. It's a great romance that should be recognized in film. It was great to watch with my wife and ask "what if...?" I would implore everyone else to do the same.

After I saw the trailer on social media, I was stoked. I love Dan Lecy and thought it looked so good. Emotional, satisfying, moving..just the type of movie I'd enjoy. But what a let down. It felt random. A little disconnected. So many little things crammed into 1:40. There were certainly some nice moments, touching. And I got teary eyed here and there. But not nearly as moving as what I expected from the trailer. Maybe it's my own fault, I had too high of expectations.

All in all, the story was there, the plot was there, but poor execution. It could have been better. But somethings were just missing for me.

As is true of everyone else watching this film and leaving a review, I loved Schitt's Creek and Dan Levy's role and performance in that show. As David Rose, he was sweet, charming, clever, funny in a sarcastic but kind hearted way, authentic, and altogether likeable. Marc in Good Grief is self-absorbed (as other reviewers have noted), immature, and pretentious. The grief he portrays feels forced and inauthentic, affected and forced. In fact, none of the main characters are likeable, with the possible exception of Marc's best friend Thomas (Himesh Patel), so I was unable to feel any empathy for them. At moments that are supposed to be heartfelt, Levy's performance is self-conscious (as in, "Here I am playing pathos"). Moments that are supposed to be profound come off as smug. The character I was able to like the most was a minor one: Imelda (Celia Imrie), Marc and Oliver's financial manager. David Bradley as Duncan, Oliver's father, is also believable and somewhat relatable. For the main characters, the character development is clumsy, consisting of obvious "revelations" and sudden transformations at the end of the film. I wanted this film to make me laugh, rage, and cry... but all it did was make me roll my eyes.

The talented Dan Levy put a lot of work into this movie. He did the writing, directing, producing and acted in every scene! Many props for that.

I did love the locations, especially the Christmas scenes. The art work was fabulous, the music was just right. I also loved the ending. But something was off. I'm not quite sure if it was the dialogue and/or the acting but I didn't care about the characters as much as I wanted to. They did seem self absorbed and yes, spoiled.

While there were some very beautiful moments, all in all, just didn't ring truthful all the way.

Would I watch it again? Probably not. But I do admire Levy so much.

For those who cherish Daniel Levy from the humor and escapism Schitt's Creek provides, this is not that... adjust your lens and your expectations. This is a beautiful film that portrays real life in a myriad of ways and the actors do a fantastic job sharing that story. This felt very ready for the stage yet as a film it never gave me the release I tend to crave. No high highs, no drastic lows... just a restrained and even keeled world in which the characters still remain in tact. Not exactly what I hoped it might be, but still has its place and I'm happy it exists, especially to offer greater representation of many underrepresented communities.

Wrapping one's hands firmly around a heady subject can be quite an undertaking, and rising up to that challenge may take some serious doing. However, without a solid foundation to support such a venture, it's easy to fall prey to the task exceeding one's grasp, which, unfortunately, is the case with the debut feature from writer-actor-director Daniel Levy. As the title of this offering suggests, this ambitious production seeks to tackle the subject of overcoming unrelenting sorrow, specifically that of a middle-aged gay Londoner (Levy) who loses his husband (Luke Evans) in a tragic accident, leaving him grief-stricken for an extended time. He has the boundless backing of his best friends (Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel) to help him work through his sadness, but that condition only deepens when unexpected revelations emerge over the course of the next year. So, with no appreciable relief in sight, the trio decides to radically change direction, embarking on a long weekend trip to Paris to heal and to get back into the swing of life. However, it's a journey that ends up being filled with the emergence of secrets and hard truths for all involved, faintly offset by the prospect of difficult but potential fresh starts. To its credit, this is a film that clearly has its heart in the right place, but it often feels like it's struggling to say what it earnestly wants to express. The emotions are sincere, and the feelings are palpable, but their execution frequently misses the mark. Their expression often feels incomplete, conveyed through dialogue that plays more like stilted, scripted prose than authentic, natural conversation. That's regrettable, given the strength of the performances, which genuinely attempt to communicate these emotions, both of the principals and a fine ensemble of supporting players, including Celia Imrie, David Bradley and Arnaud Valois. "Good Grief" feels like one of those projects that should have gone through another round of script revisions before being committed to film, particularly in light of the depth of the subject matter involved here. Grief isn't easy, and neither is telling stories about it that come across as heartfelt and real. Regrettably, this isn't one of them.

Dan Levy, going way beyond "Schitt's Creek" or any of his previous efforts, attempts a warm comedy-drama about grieving and friendship, and makes it about halfway. As Marc, the unexpectedly widowed husband of a fabulously successful writer trafficking in Harry Potter-style fantasy, he's earnest, somber, and well-dressed. (Lots of tenty sweaters; are you trying to hide the waistline, Dan?) His best friends, an annoying Ruth Negga and a verbose Himesh Patel, try to rally around him; we never find out much about them, except their past relationships with him (he and Patel are exes), and that, despite whatever financial troubles they occasionally proclaim, they live very well. The three trek off to a gorgeously photographed Paris, where Marc investigates a troubling factoid that has just come up about his marriage, and where he meets a too-good-and-handsome-to-be-true possible boyfriend (what he'd see in Marc I fail to see), and we're left hanging about that relationship. The grieving feels real enough, and it's a placid, pretty movie. Just...quiet, and while one applauds Levy for trying to break out of his mold, I wanted more confrontation, more excitement, deeper exploration.

Beautifully filmed in London and Paris. Excellent cinematography and set decoration. And just the right pacing of motion and lighting by first time movie direction from Daniel Levy, who also wrote, produced and stars in his unique story of love, loss, sadness and friendship. Its so refreshing to see a story of queer love without seeing guys just ripping off their shirts for one night stands. Not much happiness is found here, but that's what makes this so true to life. I highly recommend watching this on Netflix and look forward to seeing what's next from Daniel Levy. Don't watch this looking for comparison to Shitts Creek, it's about 180° opposite.

I wanted to give it a 10 but Ruth Negga was horrible as Sophie. She got on my nerves from her first scene. Casting her was a mistake. She was a PITA with every over the top gesture and utterance from her first scene to her last, and throughout. She even had me cringing at times. So when 30% of the main characters are irritating you, the movie suffers. But Dan and Himesh were excellent in their roles (I kept hoping they would end up together).

I want to see Dan Levy do a lot more in this industry. He is very sincere on screen and makes you want to root for him. What would be best for this industry is if Ruth Negga never does anything on screen again -- ever!

FINALLY! At long last, someone's gotten around to bring some focus to the untold stories of wealthy, narcissistic gay men and the difficulty they have in processing grief and betrayal. Thank goodness all it takes is a weekend jaunt to Paris, a FABULOUS apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower, some karaoke, and a ride on a ferris wheel to bring closure to a year of emotional agony.

God only knows how the other 99% deal with such emotional baggage. I mean, ferris wheels are few and far between outside of summer carnival season.

Well, if you can't find a ferris wheel, just sell your house, buy a seaside abode and paint!

God, I loathed this film.

Dan Levy demonstrates his ability yo show and tell an authentic depiction of the stages of grief.

The story follows a story of 3 imperfect yet caring people on a journey to discover themselves as they enter their middle age.

I can't ever remember seeing a storyline that was so delicately crafted and maintained the ability to not fall into stereotypical characters.

The subject matter is deep with moments of joy and humor. I can't recommend this story enough. I loved every moment of this.

I'm excited to see Dan Levy further develop his skills and become one of those "special" Writers, Performers and Directors.

So I watched it a few days ago, ahead of its release.

Let me break it down:

• The story is about the loss of the husband in a Gay marriage. It was enjoyable, slow drama. The trailer is not misleading and gives a good clue.

• Ruth Negga really added the fun touch. Audience laughed more than 10 times at her jokes and performance, and it became customary to expect that.

• I've seen the same plot on other projects before. Also without spoiling the story, I say there were too many coincidences on events, dates, people, and places that happened exactly at the right time for the story to unfold.

• The production quality is good. The camera, acting, shots, cinematography, ... all match and nothing out of the ordinary for a drama film. The film was shot in different locations, indoor and outdoor.

• Finally, there are a lot of queer kisses, which may not be for everyone. And almost everyone is queer, even the lawyer.

I'm extremely torn on where to land this in terms of scoring, I don't know how I feel about the movie, it's pain, loss, struggle and friendship all balled into one, it's not something I see myself watching again because I feel it's something one watch is all you need.

The movie is about Marc who is struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of his husband, he is accompanied by his two best friends for the movie Sophie and Thomas. They are trying to get him on his feet again, when time has passed and a spanner is thrown into the works the gang head to Paris to clear their minds and try not to be in a state of mess.

There is a constant pain in your chest emotion, everyone is going through their own thing and trying to keep it together, the acting was great from all, Ruth Negga as Sophie is a great casting, Himesh was also really good, seemed to be the voice of reason in it all, and of course hats off to Dan Levy for writing, staring and I think directing the movie too, he brings such a charismatic personality to his acting its quick to enjoyment.

It did feel a little slow in sections of the movie, in saying that I don't mean it dragged I just feel that's the formula for these genre of movies, a negative but a necessary one.

A nice little twist of sorts that made me more intrigued, overall good.

This movie won't be for everyone, but if your into these types of movies it's beautifully done, 7.5/10.

This really is everything I hate about gay film.

The characters are so removed from reality, living in a pretentious, rich, privileged world that it is truly irritating. The main character is such an example of self-indulgence that he is truly unlikable. Who actually lives like this in London? It feels like a very American, out of touch nonsense film that it really isn't worth bothering with.

Presumably, you are supposed to feel sorry for the main character, but the truth is you don't.

This really isn't Levy's greatest achievement. It could have been so much better, instead you've ended up with a rich, arty type's idea of something that is supposed to be relatable, but instead is absolute tosh that is, at best, irritating to watch.

I barely know who Dan Levy is. I never saw Schitt's Creek. He seems like a talented enough guy. The film was pretty to look at and generally well acted. But I don't think, at least from this, that Levy himself has the acting chops to handle the dramatic scenes. There were a few moments where I was cringing.

And while the film was generally enjoyable, it's yet another gay storyline that focuses solely on beautiful, well-off gay people living glamorous lives. Beautiful homes in London and Paris, stunningly beautiful furniture. And most everyone wildly successful. It all just seems too pat. We've seen it all before.