Sam & Kate
By Jeffery Berg November 10, 2022
A sensitively drawn if somewhat middling throwback to the dramedies of the 1980s and 1990s, starring Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek.
A sensitively drawn if somewhat middling throwback to the dramedies of the 1980s and 1990s, starring Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek.
A fizzy, feel-good comedy that believes in the goodness of the human heart, even if the brain attached is a little flighty.
For fans of the genre, this Regency romance, directed with a sure hand, is closer to a bright, airy soufflé than a stolid pudding.
Though supposedly the characters are messy and flawed, the film’s second half feels like a disguised PSA for behaving nice and having functional conversations.
Part of the movie’s punch can be chalked up to the sheer audacity of its titular character: a monster of self-absorption, flighty, rude, and prone to oversharing and interrupting.
The “worst person” label is a misdirection that belies the richly observed characters in Joachim Trier’s smart and playful film.
Both leads, who make their film debut here, have an easy rapport, and the comedy coasts along largely on their charms.
This gentle, lived-in story about a tentative romance between an older man and woman wins you over with low-key, unhurried charm.
How would an algorithm pick an ideal romantic partner? I’m Your Man takes on this question in a bittersweet, witty way.