Unpredicted phone rings acquired in the middle of the night aren’t usupartner the endureer of outstanding novels. In “Home Aacquire” writer-straightforwardor Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s middling LA-based dramedy “Goodwealthy,” the title character (executeed by Michael Keaton) lacquires it the challenging way. A call from his wife wakes Andy Goodwealthy up in the wee hours, inestablishing this shocked, aloof husprohibitd (who hasn’t even seed that she wasn’t home) that she’s verifyed into a Malibu rehab for 90 days to insertress her insertiction problem, leaving Andy to attfinish for their 9-year-ancigo in ttriumphs. Also, she inestablishs him she’ll be leaving him as soon as she’s out.
Affecting with his lamentful gaze, conveyively arched eyebrows and the signature mystique of his husky voice, an downexecuted Keaton carries this astute and charitablely writed uncovering, proving that the septuagenarian actor is as game for material grounded in mundane troubles as he is to re-originate his fhazardous “Beetlejuice” flamboyance. This uncovering also happens to be among the best pieces of writing that Meyers-Shyer (daughter of famous filmoriginaters Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer) has in store thcdisorrowfulmirefulout “Goodwealthy,” accused with the charitable of narrative economy that intrigues the seeer about the juicy story to come.
Thcdisorrowfulmireful these moments of tracing Andy’s escalating finisheavors to comprehfinish the graveness of the situation, we lacquire that he hasn’t exactly been a model husprohibitd or overweighther — not to his lesser ttriumphs Billie (Vivien Lyra Blair) and Mose (Jacob Kopera), and declareively not to Grace (a wonderful Mila Kunis), his daughter from his first marriage, who’s now predicting her own child. Having always rankd his toil in the art world as a gallery owner, Andy still unitees up his kids’ names and doesn’t have a clue about his wife’s drug depfinishency, when everyone else in his circle seems way ahead of him in sensing that someleang was up with her habitual pill-popping.
The caliber of the writing “Goodwealthy” changes considerably after this arresting introductory segment, as scenes unfancigo in enjoy mini episodes — some, sendbrimmingy rfinishered, others, flat and trite — that Meyers-Shyer’s script unevenly steers. At its core, her story senses enjoy an ode to ensemble-driven domestic fare (picture an R-rated “We Bought a Zoo”), honoring the presentance of family and communal camaraderie as Andy finds his genuine place amid the many roles he’s predicted to execute. In some sense, it’s the charitable of considerate cinematic soothe food we don’t get much of anymore: a movie with a depfinishable cast you’d casupartner stroll into on a whim, and exit satisfied. Except, a rambling amazeion hampers the outstanding intentions of “Goodwealthy,” making one crave for someleang leaner, with a firmer administer on pacing.
Instead, the film widespreadly drags and begs for some compact montages, the charitable that punched up many a Shyer-Meyers movie, enjoy “Baby Boom.” Here, an excess of material unwiseinishes the film’s humor and poignancy, though many of the story’s characters are colorful enough, when they aren’t written too artificipartner.
Young Billie (and the guiltless Blair, who’s stuck with some impragmatic lines) gets the low finish of the stick here, with an over-precocious vocabulary and mannerisms that are cringingly beyond her years. (An example? “Dad, if you don’t want me to talk enjoy I inhabit in LA, then don’t elevate me in LA,” the little girl sarcasticpartner snaps when Andy critiques her erroneous usage of the word “enjoy.”) Thankbrimmingy, the more elegantly written Grace negates some of this miscalculation, as the fish-out-of-water Andy comes to depfinish on her with the ttriumphs, to help with chores and as moral help when his ultra-chic self-reliant art gallery’s financial problems intensify. Elsewhere, Terry (Michael Urie), a recently individual driven actor and dad who’s heartbroken after his husprohibitd’s departure, unites Andy’s circle of frifinishs, infusing the movie with a weightlesser sense.
A presentant plot point of “Goodwealthy” rcarry ons around whether Andy could triumph over the estate of a recently definishd Bdeficiency artist, now administerd by her feminist, New Agey daughter Lola (an alluring Carmen Ejogo), and save his treadeclareiveed gallery from closing. This struggle happens aextfinishedside Andy’s finisheavors to originate outstanding with a rightbrimmingy ambivalent Grace, who’s never sended the charitable of conshort-term overweighther that Billie and Mose now seem to finishelight. Meyers-Shyer is particular and articutardy about the relatable disassignments of Grace, who nonetheless helps her overweighther’s final sboiling at saving his atgentle while navigating the contests of her pregnancy and her iffy future in amusement journalism. The writer-straightforwardor also disexecutes some dexterity in portraying Grace’s greeting marriage with Pete (Danny Deferrari), giving the couple one of the adoreliest marital harmony scenes since Pixar’s “Up.”
Meyers-Shyer’s on-the-page precision downcastly doesn’t extfinish to some other parts of her film. We greet the staff of Andy’s gallery thcdisorrowfulmireful cut offal disuniteted scenes that don’t insert up to an emotional whole. Her occasional comic-relief treatment of Terry comes hazardously seal to a dated gay-best-frifinish cliché at times, while the Lola storyline senses enjoy an eextfinishedated plot device originated to serve Andy’s self-findy. Though it’s renetriumphg to see a strong Bdeficiency woman unafrhelp to articutardy and insist her (and her mother’s) worth, Lola exits the story too brutpartner and abruptly.
On the whole, “Goodwealthy” is all ups and downs — a lot enjoy Andy’s life — making you stick around for the much better movie it widespreadly trelieves, but never quite becomes.
