Good Sam (2019) – Summary, Review (with Spoilers)

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Good Sam is breezy, likable, avoids any controversial topics, and focuses on an ambitious young reporter trying to find if good people still exist.

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Director(s)		Kate Melville
Screenplay By		Teena Booth, Dete Meserve
Date Released		5/16/2019
Genre(s)		Mystery, Romance
Good If You Like		Films Which Don’t Challenge The Viewer, But Just Wish To Entertain Them For Approximately 90 minutes. Like To See Ambitious Young Women.
Isn’t For You If You		Like A Lot Of Details About The Lead Character & People In Their Life
Noted Cast
Kate	Tiya Sircar
David	Mark Camacho
Ashok	Ivan Smith
Jack	Marco Grazzini
Eric	Chad Connell

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Good Sam Plot Summary

Kate has long worked a beat which had her reporting on fires, murders, accidents, and things which got Channel 12 ratings, but was also a bummer. However, with Kate choosing being a reporter over a lawyer, like her dad, because she likes the thrill of it, reporting on the worse moments of some people’s lives didn’t bother her. However, for her manager David, he increasingly grew tired of his bosses worried about the legal and insurance ramifications because of Kate’s ambitions. For with her often going past the police line to get a scoop, she posed herself as a liability.

Thus leading her to cover “Good Sam.” A moniker created to monetize a person, assumingly a male, who gives $100,000 to what appears to be random, unconnected, people. Which, for Kate, started off as a boring story, but with her desires to poke holes into the idea Good Sam is selfless, she begins her hunt to find out who they are. All the while, her father, Ashok, is trying to pair her up with a hedge fund manager named Jack and she finds herself smitten with one of her suspected Good Sam possibilities named Eric.

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Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. What happened to Kate’s mom? We don’t see her picture on Ashok’s desk, and Kate doesn’t talk about her either.

Highlights

It’s A Good Popcorn Movie

Good Sam is of the ilk of Netflix’s holiday movies, but less corny. It’s something you can watch with family, if you get tired of seeing more violent and sexual films, or just want something which doesn’t try to challenge your views but want some simple entertainment. Which isn’t to downplay it being one of the few movies featuring someone Indian in an English speaking role, or the fact Kate is devoid of stereotypes. But those things aren’t played upon, and Kate is just allowed to be an ambitious young woman who wants to be a good and successful journalist. One who isn’t even chasing clout but just well-investigated stories.

On The Fence

You May Wish You Got More of Kate’s Background

To be honest, Kate is sort of bland and generic. As noted, Kate being Indian isn’t played upon, and while her father, Senator Ashok Bradley, notes his family is from India and their story, that is a 1 – 2 minute segment and the last time her family’s history is mentioned. With that comes no talking about where or what happened to her mother, and you don’t necessarily learn why she avoided law and chose journalism instead.

Yes, it is clear she likes the thrill, and part of the thrill probably is being a Desi woman who chose a pursuit that wasn’t being a doctor, lawyer, or professions of that ilk. However, what made her choose journalism over being a firefighter, cop, and things of that nature? That isn’t talked about. Making it seem, outside of that nod that Ashok presents about their culture, Kate could have easily been written to be anyone. Which makes it hard to feel invested in her.

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Good Sam Overall Rating: Mixed (Divisive)

Available on Netflix | Purchase, Rent, or Get Merchandise On Amazon

Our main issue with Good Sam is that it doesn’t really try to sell you on anything in particular. It’s a breezy movie, something to kill time watching, but it doesn’t push a notable character, doesn’t ask of you to take note of the actors, and the story is plain and straight-forward. Which is great if you don’t want something which questions your values, comes off immoral, or anything of that nature. However, it also makes this movie quite forgettable, hence the mixed label.

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