Entertainment
See You When I See You review: Jay Duplass latest drama is hurt by his leading man
Last year, Jay Duplass directed the brilliantly funny Baltimorons, which starred co-writer Michael Strassner as an improv comedian who finds a new lease on life through an unexpected friendship with an ornery dentist. This year, Duplass offers a sibling film of sorts as his follow-up, adapting stand-up comedian Adam Cayton-Holland’s memoir, Tragedy Plus Time, into the drama See You When I See You.
Where The Baltimorons centered on (and starred) a comedian dealing with suicidal ideation, See You When I See You focuses on a family grieving the loss of their sister and daughter to suicide. Cayton-Holland wrote the adapted screenplay for See You When I See You, but unlike Strassner, he does not star in the resulting film. Instead, Duplass casts indie ingedude Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth, Shithouse) to play the lead of a comedian who can’t cope when confronting the death of his younger sister, Leah (Kaitlyn Dever).
While the supporting cast is made up of compelling performers, including David Duchovny, Lucy Boynton, and Hope Davis, See You When I See You is hampered by a leading man who cannot shoulder the emotional weight of this story.
See You When I See You explores a family’s suicide loss.
Two months after Leah’s death by suicide, the Whistler family is cleaning out her apartment. Older sister Emily (Boynton) is determinedly trying to catch the koi fish that her whimsical sibling kept in a pond not approved by the landlord. Their lawyer father Robert (Duchovny) is buttoning up paperwork, while his wife Page (Davis) is rejecting the idea of a funeral for her youngest child. Meanwhile, middle child Aaron (Raiff) is lost in thought looking at an old photo of the whole family.
See You When I See You explores a different way of coping with grief through each character. Emily, who has a kid and husband to look after along with her father’s law firm, finds comfort in grounding herself in a task. Robert invests himself in making sure his wife and other children are okay, but can’t rest because they definitely are not. Page is shutting herself off from everything — the pain of this loss, her family’s attention, and even the panic when she discovers a lump in her breast. Aaron is embracing chaos and rejecting therapy.
Aaron’s ghosted a could-be girlfriend. He’s bailing on work at his comedy writing job. He’s falling into memories of his younger sister that warp into nightmare scenarios. For instance, recalling the last night they hung out, he and Leah are bullshitting happily at a bar. But a conversation that once felt mundane now carries a great, horrible importance because it was their last. As she talks, the paneled ceiling of the bar gives away to reveal a ravenous black hole, seeking to suck up anything it can, including Leah. In his distorted memory, Aaron calls out to her, demanding to understand why.
This imagery recurs in See You When I See You. It’s effective because, yeah, that’s what grief can feel like, an insatiable sucking hole eager to gobble us up without mercy. These scenes are all the more disturbing because of how nonchalantly Dever plays them. While Raiff shrieks in terror, she is casual when facing her character’s oblivion. This visual and dissonance well reflects the anger Aaron has at his sister, but Raiff himself falls flat in selling the emotion.
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Cooper Raiff drags down See You When I See You.
Whether he’s flirting awkwardly with a crush, bickering with his older sister, or cajoling his mother, Aaron’s every move feels like a performance. Raiff’s approach to the material is too broad to blend with the rest of the cast. And perhaps that is intentional, meant to echo how Aaron, as a comedian, is ill-equipped to cope with something so serious. But that approach would only work if Raiff’s performance becomes grounded or nuanced at some point, and it just doesn’t.
His fumbling becomes frustrating as Aaron’s story overtakes the plotline, though his sister’s and his parents’ respective narrative arcs are much more compelling. Page and Robert, who in flashbacks are radiantly in love, can barely be in the same room. He craves her, but her hurt can’t allow her to be vulnerable in conversation or copulation. In quiet moments alone, both Davis and Duchovny silently seethe with heartache that is almost deafening.
They’re good. But Boynton (The Greatest Hits) is brilliant and blistering. In the hands of a lesser actress, Emily might come off as obnoxiously bossy or coldly arrogant. But Boynton’s performance makes clear that Emily’s efforts to bully the family into group tasks — like cleaning out Leah’s home and planning a funeral — are her way of bringing them together to heal. She may practically spit when arguing with her irresponsible brother, but it’s out of a frustration that she’s expected to still be a mother, wife, and eldest daughter, while everyone else gives him space to be the goofball.
See You When I See You is flawed but beautiful.
Raiff’s failure as a leading man hurts this drama, but doesn’t ruin it. Cayton-Holland’s script is thoughtful in making the internal external. So, fears about what comes after are spun into a beautiful flashback where the Whistler father tells his kids about the boundless wonders of outer space and the strange fluidity of time. Flashbacks transformed into battlegrounds make for a rich venue to act out Aaron’s battle for mental health. Bickering with a sister who is now a memory, we’re invited into not just his past but how it feels to him now.
Duplass’ cinematographer Jim Frohna wisely favors a handheld camera for such dramatic moments. The rocking sensation of the frame gives the sense of hesitation. You can practically feel your own feet bracing with uncertainty whether to push forward into a scary future, or hang back in the certain but familiar pain of the present. This mindful unsteadiness subtly bolsters the film’s earnest emotional fragility. But again, its leading man cannot create this same effect. Rather then revealing, Raiff is constantly mugging in glee, grief, and whatever else. He feels a stooge in the middle of a tragedy, and while that makes sense for the film’s first half — perhaps reflecting Cayton-Holland’s own insecurity about his coping skills — the second half offers no growth in this vein. So, Raiff becomes more a distraction from the secondary storylines, instead of the solid center of the film.
And yet, I wept my face off watching See You When I See You. Despite Raiff’s fumbled attempts at depth, Duplass and the rest of his ensemble gracefully capture the hardship of mourning a death by suicide. That life goes on feels both a blessing and curse in such times. And See You When I See You explores that, overall, with humane nuance.
See You When I See You was reviewed out of the SXSW Film Festival. It does not yet have a release date.
If you’re feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text “START” to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email [email protected]. If you don’t like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat. Here is a list of international resources.
Entertainment
New He-Man Trailer Marks Triumphant Return To Eternia
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
Recently, animator Barry Caldwell died, less than a week before the newest trailer for the live-action version of one of his many well-known projects: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It is perhaps ironic that the trailer should so closely follow his death, as it is a reminder of his impact on our culture.
And boy, does the trailer have impact. Movies based on or around toy lines or video games tend to be transparent cash grabs and thus really horrible, with a few notable exceptions. Street Fighter leaned into its camp and both Silent Hill and Resident Evil managed to capture the survival horror of their settings quite well. Even the Sonic the Hedgehog movies embrace their cartoonishness to stand out as halfway decent adaptations. Meanwhile, repeated attempts to make a good Super Mario Brothers movie haven’t always won over fans, and the Jem movie, based on another Hasbro line, failed entirely by abandoning its source material.
Masters of the Universe appears as though it may not only join the ranks of the successful adaptations but potentially surpass them. The trailer shows us not only an Adam on a dreary Earth, but the consequences of both his exile and return. Sent away by his parents as Skeletor ravages Eternia, he works in an office but is a sci-fi nerd who is always conscious of his roots.
To top it off, he is the prince of the land he was sent away from, so his return has consequence to its people. Reunited with the Sword of Power, he is picked up by canon character Teela and brought back to an Eternia that has been ravaged and razed. His parents are prisoners, and it looks like his populace is a little skeptical of him. He knows that the weight of saving his planet rests on his shoulders. Is he ready to take on the challenge of defeating Skeletor and his evil minions?
Top-Tier Worldbuilding
The trailer treats us to magical transformations and really exciting fights with Adam in full He-Man form, answering that question rather quickly and giving us what we want to see in a He-Man movie: the titular hero fighting the terrifying sorcerer and his witchy sidekick, Evilyn in the fantasy setting it was written in, not here on Earth, which we see every time we open our eyes. This is augmented by the science fiction technology that was also a huge part of the fantasy setting, including space ships, laser guns, and mechanized weapons.
Even ravaged, Eternia looks awesome, with the CGI well-rendered and not cartoony, like an Avatar movie. We see all the sites: Castle Greyskull, the home of He-Man ally Sorceress, the lair of Skeletor, the sweeping capitol, and various vistas of Eternia’s mountains, plains, and forests. While there may be scenes on Earth, it feels like this is a story of Adam’s homecoming, and therefore it embraces Eternia as surely as Adam is its prince.
The characters are also largely spot-on. Cringer, Adam’s companion and steed whose alter ego is Battle Cat when the prince is He-Man, looks a lot better than he did in the original trailer, and makes a comical appearance in lieu of the MGM Lion in the production credit (MGM and Amazon produced the movie).
Teela looks exactly right, especially once she is in full costume with her hair swept up in her crown. Even Duncan Man-at-Arms, who is played by Idris Elba in a casting move that has caused some complaints, is in perfect costume, and Elba does justice to the grizzled warrior as he gives Adam advice about being a man.
A Trailer That Will Channel Your Inner Barbarian
The only one of the heroes from the cartoon that I haven’t seen in the trailers yet is the floating tiny wizard Orko, who as the comic relief of the show. Given how much attention has been given to the rest of the production, I suspect we may yet see him. After all, there are many special effects creatures in the trailer, including an alien Adam can’t identify. Even Sorceress appears, but you’ll only spot her if you’re “eagle-eyed” (hint, hint!).
Jared Leto is buried under a lot of makeup as Skeletor, giving the monstrous dictator a menacing look that is only more enticing in this new trailer. Unlike his cartoon counterpart or his portrayal by Frank Langella in the 1987 campy live action version with Dolph Lundgren, Jared Leto’s Skeletor is a frightening presence on the screen, his glowing red eyes evidence of his evil. Speaking of evil, Alison Brie as Evilyn is dressed to kill, even if she doesn’t quite look the part as much as Meg Foster did in 1987.
I went from being a bit unsure about the direction the movie was taking to being very excited about it because of this trailer. The other trailer made some hints that it was either embracing the “modern audience” or skewering it with the masculinity inherent in a character named “He-Man” (whose mundane identity’s name also means “man”), but with shots of He-Man in his full barbarian-style garb, it is clear that the movie isn’t shying away from its hero. It is actually starting to look like a real live-action version of the cartoon we grew up with in the 80s, and it looks like it’s not just a cynical artifact cashing in on nostalgia, but a truly great tribute to a memorable character and his world.
Masters of the Universe will be released in theaters on June 5, 2026. Take The Power and mark the date!
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Entertainment
Nicole Kidman's R-Rated Netflix Thriller Is 50 First Dates Meets Memento
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Have you ever watched Memento and thought to yourself, “I wish there was a crappier version of this film that makes no sense?” Well, your search is over, because 2014’s Before I Go to Sleep is streaming on Netflix. It’s billed as a psychological thriller, and technically it is, but it completely falls apart under scrutiny if you watch it for more than five seconds and have an IQ higher than the average goldfish.
It’s not the talent involved either. Before I Go to Sleep is adequately acted, and it looks fine. There are even some pretty neat flashback sequences. There’s nothing wrong with the cinematography, but the cast and crew alone can’t save a screenplay like this. You can’t act your way out of a premise so profoundly stupid that it requires four ibuprofen and a cool, dark room to recover from. The movie’s about amnesia, but unfortunately, I remember watching it, so I might as well talk about it.
Like Memento But Without The Drama, Mystery, Tension, Or Smart Hooks
Here’s the story that Before I Go to Sleep tries to tell. Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) has amnesia. Every day, her husband Ben (Colin Firth) gives her a 50 First Dates crash course on her identity, their relationship, her injury, and her memory loss. Meanwhile, another man named Mike Nasch (Mark Strong), who claims to be her psychologist, calls her daily to remind her that she’s keeping a record of her thoughts on a camera hidden in a shoebox in her closet. Every day, Christine wakes up, forgets what happened the day before, and repeats the cycle.
Christine has been living like this for 14 years. It’s only when the movie begins that all of this suddenly becomes a problem. She starts remembering her old friend Claire (Ann-Marie Duff), who gives her a crash course on what her life has been like since the accident. Through these increasingly preposterous encounters, Christine learns that she had a son with Ben. She also learns that Ben divorced her at some point, yet she’s still living with him. On top of that, Mike may not be entirely truthful, even though he’s the one who encouraged her to document everything in the first place. Smells like red herring to me.
Falls Apart During The First Act
What’s most perplexing about Before I Go to Sleep is how long Christine has been living like this without any meaningful intervention. She has no recollection of anything before her accident each time she wakes up. She should never be left alone to her own devices because she has a severe cognitive disability. The friends she reconnects with are way too casual about everything, as if hearing from someone out of the blue years after their traumatic brain injury is totally normal.
I understand that someone like Claire may have had repeated encounters with Christine and is playing along to avoid upsetting her, but that’s not what’s being implied here. Everything is far too convenient, with all signs pointing to the fact that somebody is up to something, which we learn through Christine’s flashbacks. The problem is that these flashbacks aren’t reliable, and they’re clearly being influenced by manipulative sources.
If you’re wondering who the manipulative source is, try the one living with her who has clearly been controlling the narrative from the opening scene onward. I’d say spoiler alert, but if you’ve seen even a couple psychological thrillers, you’ll know exactly how this ends before the opening credits finish rolling.
Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong do about as well as they can with what they’re given. But if I’m being honest, you’re better off huffing paint, watching 50 First Dates and Memento on two separate screens, and trying to piece them together every time you regain consciousness. It’s basically the same experience.
As of this writing, Before I Go to Sleep is streaming on Netflix.
LeBron James, depleted Lakers face Mavericks
New He-Man Trailer Marks Triumphant Return To Eternia
