Review of Ashby (2015) by Jeff B — 02 Oct 2016

I wasn't sure if I was going to give this four or five stars. I thought about it and realized that I thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish. I don't understand why it got such average marks here at the Tomatoe.

Wolf and Rourke do a great job as grizzled yet sensible CIA vet and coming of age, awkward, quirky smart kid who is able to win over the nerds and jocks alike.

The story builds nicely is well paced and develops naturally, nothing forced.Even Sarah Silverman does a nice job as the awkward single mom. There's noting too heavy handed here. The story is kept light, relatively speaking, without going down the road of getting too preachy or maudlin. There's also a lot of good laughs, laughs that come from the characters and the story line, not sigh gags or forced jokes like so many of those boring, alleged comedies.

Ashby is quirky, fun, but doesn't take itself too seriously. And as per usual, Rourke lights up the screen with his talent and presence. For me, it was a win, win , win. Thoroughly enjoyed it.