THE STORY – Stan and Cynthia are two 50-somethings who cross paths at a disillusioned moment in their respective lives and find an unlikely, funny and heartwarming connection that rejuvenates them both.
THE CAST – Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Judd Hirsch & Brittany O’Grady
THE TEAM – Michael J. Weithorn (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 103 Minutes
The on-screen reunion between Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon deserves much better than a forgettable relationship piece. Sedgwick and Bacon, who previously appeared on screen together in Nicole Kassell’s 2004 feature debut “The Woodsman,” are one of the coolest and most charismatic couples in show business. It’s rare to see these two explore their real-life chemistry on screen, so when the opportunity does arise, one naturally hopes they receive dynamic material that plays to their strengths. “The Best You Can,” written and directed by “King of Queens” creator Michael J. Weithorn, lacks the inspiration and personality to fulfill that hope. While Sedgwick and Bacon do their best to infuse energy, Weithorn’s unfocused script lets them down at nearly every turn. Too many competing plots, an uneven tone, and two-dimensional characters bury the film in a wasteland of generic romantic comedies and dramas.
The film begins with Cynthia Rand (Sedgwick), a urologist married to former Watergate prosecutor Warren Rand (Judd Hirsch), defending the age gap in their relationship. When Cynthia and Warren first started dating, she was in her thirties. He was fifty-seven. In the early days of attraction, she felt enamored by how much more life experience he had. She didn’t do the math on what their future could look like. Fast-forward to the present day: Cynthia notices that Warren has become more agitated and forgetful than usual. She calls a doctor friend (Ray Romano) who, after suggesting that Warren might have dementia, questions why Cynthia didn’t “do the math” and why she didn’t consider the potentiality of this health scare sooner.
Disillusioned about her marriage, Cynthia finds unexpected comfort in Stan Olszewski (Kevin Bacon), the neighborhood security guard who stops an attempted robbery at her home one evening. In Cynthia and Stan’s meet cute, he asks her to use her bathroom due to a frequent urination issue, and she excitedly shares how she can take him on as a patient since she’s a urologist. Finding a random connection in each other, they get inspired to start seriously considering personal changes in their lives. Stan is also at a point of disillusionment; he has a slightly strained relationship with his daughter Sammi (Brittany O’Grady), an aspiring musician who he had neglected and has since tried to make up for lost time. Stan also occasionally sees a considerably younger, twenty-something woman named CJ (Olivia Luccardi), who he has saved in his phone as “Grocery Girl.”
As Cynthia and Stan navigate the various ups and downs of life, they lean on each other for stability, engaging in long text conversations and indulging in auto-correct humor. One phone montage evokes the hallmark of classic rom-com films such as “You’ve Got Mail” and “When Harry Met Sally,” in which phone conversations convey a blossoming relationship. When dedicated to getting to know the characters, “The Best You Can” shows glimmers of a compelling relationship drama. There is a potentially resonant story here about two people losing their bearings, wrestling with their life choices, and undergoing a meaningful journey. You want to root for Cynthia and Stan, especially given the talents of Sedgwick and Bacon, and the film makes it hard to feel engaged in their journey.
The performances do so much of the heavy lifting to add personality. With sparkling chemistry, Bacon and Sedgwick convey the different energies of Stan and Cynthia’s relationship. They can be romantically playful in one moment and poke fun at each other about significant age gaps in the next. They also impressively handle the uneven tone; some of the material gets taken seriously one moment, and the gravity of a dramatic situation gets undermined the next. But it can be a chore to stay fully engaged as a viewer when the material does them little to no favors. The script puts little effort into creating multi-faceted characters and fleshing out backstories with lived-in detail. As a result, this leads to a conclusion that evokes indifference when it should evoke strong emotions about where the characters are in their journey.
Outside of Cynthia and Stan’s relationship, the film features several others that don’t add much emotional or thematic development. When Cynthia hires a woman named Pramila (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) to monitor Warren at home and asks that Pramila pretend to be a student for his sake, it’s to help Warren write a book based on his Watergate role. This storyline is cast aside as quickly as it’s introduced, and the same applies to how the film explores all the characters in Cynthia and Stan’s orbit. The relationship depicted between Stan and his daughter Sammi promises moments of intriguing development; for instance, Sammi finds the confidence to perform at gigs, and Stan discovers ways to reconnect with her. However, the script focuses too much on surface-level plot points without exploring the underlying emotions behind the characters.
“The Best You Can” can be a pleasant watch, thanks to the chemistry between Bacon and Sedgwick. However, the film struggles to establish a consistent tone. It leaves behind a conclusion that falls flat where it should have soared, especially considering the subject matter and the talent involved. The film exists someplace between a romantic comedy and drama, not dedicated to either sub-genre when it comes to framing the story. Lacking focus in the writing and direction, the film ultimately falls short of crafting a satisfying journey for the viewer to follow.
