Review of Downhill (2020) by Hnestlyonthesly — 02 Mar 2020

Mistakes were made. I knew going in this would be a bit cheerless, but the prospect of having two of my favorite comedians in the same movie seemed too good to pass up. The scene where Billie recounts the trauma of their brush with death feels like the beginning of a tonal downshift that doesn't mesh well with the earlier events in the first act. The interactions between Pete and Billy and the lodge staff is the source of a lot of the humor of the first few scenes: Miranda Otto's aggressive Nordic domme character comes off as cartoonish set aside Dreyfus's subtle annoyance and discomfort, the patter between the ski safety boss and Billy pokes fun at her cluelessness and Pete's unwillingness to take her side, which, when placed in the trailer, sets the tone for our expectation of the movie, but I think it feels out of place with the rest of the movie, like the script was trying to go in two directions and never made a final decision. None of the scenes with children are especially that memorable or impactful and there's this vestigial appendage of a dead father/grieving son plot that crops up almost by accident--first, when the family is suiting up for their second day on the slopes, then at an awkward dinner date, and on the drunk walk home from the club. Pete's confession about still yearning for his youth even as he grows old and acquires new responsibilities has already been explained for us by his choice of resort and his selfish maneuvering to socialize with coworkers. It doesn't feel revelatory or insightful. It just feels like he's come late to his own party. It feels shallow and a little tired and not quite self-aware and a little dated.

I'm sure the original the original was delightful.