It is one thing to serve as the director of a comedy episode you starred in for six seasons. Daniel Levy, star of "Schitt's Creek," won an Emmy for co-directing the series finale in 2020 after nailing that exercise. However, directing and writing a thoughtful, sensitive original film in which you also play the lead is a whole different ballgame. Levy skillfully pulls this off with the heartfelt "Good Grief," which premieres on New Year's Day and offers fans of Netflix's lighthearted Christmas fare something substantial to look forward to in 2024.
It seems appropriate to release a movie about three friends who shed their skin to start a new chapter in their life during the first week of January. Not surprisingly, Levy proves to be a more serious storyteller than we had previously given him credit for in this debut. Given his father Eugene's skill at improv, it was simple to label Levy as a comic talent; nevertheless, in this scene, he reveals a more sensitive and intimate side.
Levy portrays Marc, a late-30s gay artist whose A-list spouse Oliver passes away suddenly while attending their holiday celebration. You can relax knowing that "Good Grief" is far better than that oversimplified synopsis suggests, despite the trailers' claims that Marc is better able to deal with his loss after visiting Paris. Think of a fulfilling 1990s weepie that has been updated with "Obvious Child's" millennial bite. The worst disaster is the first one because we can foresee it. However, Levy approaches Oliver's death in a novel way, letting us know early on that he wants us to feel something without using tactless manipulation.
The aspiring director proved his hipster credentials in "Schitt's Creek," when he played a snobbish New Yorker who had to come to terms with reality. Marc is also about to get an unpleasant awakening. Levy has written a moving tale that will hold up against the jabs of a sarcastic generation that has grown accustomed to mocking sincerity. Putting real emotions on the line requires bravery, especially after providing so much fodder for cynical viewers. Although "Good Grief" has its moments of humour, its main message is about accepting the unpleasant aspects of life, such as death.
Marc remembers Oliver as the perfect husband—handsome, prosperous, and—finally—distraction from his mother's passing—as he ventures into the realm of psychoanalysis. In retrospect, Marc realises that the couple got together when he should have been grieving, and that after Oliver passed away, he had to deal with the gap that his mother and lover had left in his life. It doesn't take a fortune teller to predict that the picture Marc set aside years ago will be important to his recovery, but Levy came up with one of the most romantic situations in any homosexual love story: a private tour of one of the most well-known works of art in Paris.
The filmmaker condenses a year of coping into just thirty minutes, during which time Marc is consoled by his ex-boyfriend-turned-best buddy Thomas and self-described "hot mess" Sophie. Marc has been putting off opening Oliver's final Christmas card for a full year when he finally does, and what he finds is shocking. This is how the three buddies end up spending a few days in Paris, where Marc is still cool enough to skip a makeover and wander the glitzy city in sweatpants, without giving anything away.
Streaming link of this movie - https://sflix.life/good-grief-2024/
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