Review of A.C.O.D. (2013) by Kyle B — 17 Jun 2014

This movie just did not click with me. A.C.O.D. (which stands for Adult Children of Divorce) tells the story of Carter, an A.C.O.D. that seems to have adjusted to his life. He's been dating a girl for four years, has his own restaurant, and seems pretty happy.

When his brother announces that he's getting married to his girlfriend of four months, however, it is up to Carter to reunite his divorced parents for the wedding. Naturally, all hell breaks loose, and so we have our story.

As a comedy, A.C.O.D. doesn't really work. Its dry humor and excellent cast are sure to induce smiles, but I never found anything in the movie to be outrageously funny. Adam Scott's comedic timing as Carter is pitch perfect (he is perfect for the role), but the script just doesn't work most of the time.

The supporting cast doesn't get much screen time to truly make their characters seem three-dimensional, and while Carter is in every scene in the movie, I was never really quite satisfied with the way the story took him.

I would have been much happier if the movie had focused on a numbered few characters and really fleshed those ones out, because as it is, A.C.O.D. feels like a movie filled with excellent actors playing paper thin characters.

The plot still works, and the acting is still excellent, but A.C.O.D. could have been a much better movie with a better director/screenwriter.