Good One – Movie Review and Summary

In a movie that may have more scenes of landscapes and walking than dialog, viewers are pushed to notice the subtle shift in dynamics between a father, daughter, and the father’s odd friend.

Plot Summary

Sam and her dad, Christopher, like to camp and hike, and Christopher invites one of his best friends, Matt, who was supposed to come with his son. However, Matt has family issues due to past infidelity, so it ends up being just Sam, Christopher, and Matt.

At first, this is fine, but having to listen to Christopher and Matt moan and groan about their exes makes the trip boring and annoying. But then Matt starts to get weird, and that is when Sam has to look at him less as her dad’s weird friend and more as a guy who could potentially be dangerous.

Content Information

• Dialog: Cursing
• Violence: None
• Sexual Content: None
• Miscellaneous: None

General Information

Director(s)	India Donaldson
Screenplay By	India Donaldson
Based On Work By	N/A
Date Released	January 25, 2024
How To Watch	Film Festival – Sundance
Genre(s)	Adventure, Drama, LGBT+
Film Length	1 Hour 30 Minutes
Content Rating	Not Rated
Noted Characters and Cast
Sam	Lily Collias
Christopher	James Le Gros
Matt	Danny McCarthy

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Sam (Lily Collias)

Sam is a child of divorce, but while her parents don’t have a great relationship, she and her dad are cool. They bond over hiking mostly, and he doesn’t seem to have any issues with her being queer.

Christopher (James Le Gros)

Christopher is Sam’s dad, who works a lot but sets aside his phone to spend as much time with his kid as he can. Who he loves and cherishes, but he doesn’t always defend as she may want when she needs it.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Support The Girls.”

Matt (Danny McCarthy)

Matt is an actor, mostly doing commercials right now, who is divorced due to his infidelity, and that has caused a notable rift between him and his son. But, with doing financially well right now, he knows he’ll bounce back, likely with some young woman.

Review

On The Fence

The Art Of Being Subtle

“Good One” is the kind of movie where not a lot is said. You have to pay attention to body language, like Sam’s frustration with her father leading her to tighten her fist or look over at her father’s tent when she is left alone with Matt. It’s more about the things that aren’t said than what is vocalized. There are positives and negatives to this.

The positive is you are forced to pay attention. This is not something you can just walk away from and treat like an audiobook. Whether Sam is just a teenager spending time with her dad or a person in a very uncomfortable and unsupported situation can only be seen. But, the negative of this approach is that it leads to many scenes that just have relaxing music and nature shots. Which, surprisingly, don’t make the movie feel slow, but it can lead to, once the hiking trip is over, you questioning what happened since not much does happen. Sam gets uncomfortable, doesn’t feel supported, and takes note of her father’s response.

That’s it. After being called out, men take some accountability for their lives, Sam and Matt having an awkward interaction, and Sam’s disappointment in her dad for not acting as she needs to feel protected.

Recommendations

Good If You Like

• Movies that don’t spell everything out and rely on you understanding the awkwardness of distant parent/child relationships

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