Review of Joshy (2016) by Kyle J — 08 Aug 2016

Last night I was privy to attend a pre-screening of the soon to be released film Joshy. Having certain knowledge of the film due to the Q&A afterwards has slightly affected my opinion of the film but not by much.

Joshy is the tale of a man named Josh (Thomas Middleditch) who comes home after going to the gym on his birthday to find that his fiance has strangled herself (Alison Brie) with his belt. Joshy had planned to go on a bachelor party trip with his friends before all of this happened but decides that even though she is gone they should still use the cabin or else they will lose it. As it turns out, only 3 of his friends arrive to spend time with him. Without giving up any serious details or spoilers of the story, many things unfold in the movie that seem somewhat questionable and at other times confusing or meant for mere shock factor. As the movies wraps up we see that Josh has finally come to terms with what has happened and what his fiance has done to him by killing herself (suicide is a selfish crime that hurts everyone else).

Personally I enjoyed many parts of Joshy. There were also many parts that left me confused. As I mentioned above, these scenes appeared to be more like they were meant for mere shock or cheap laughs (mushroom trips, Brett Gelman's character in general, hookers, strippers, etc.) than actual continuation of the story. The film is easily a dark comedy and in many moments excels at that genre. However as I just mentioned, at the same time some of these moments drag down the movie.

For another example, there is a B story revolving around a chance meeting Joshy and Ari (Adam Pally) have with Jodi (Jenny Slate) outside of the only bar in the town. They are smoking weed and Jodi is lost and has lost her phone. (SPOILER) A romance of sorts begins between Ari and Jodi that ends up with an awkward kiss in the 2nd to last scene of the film. I believe it is a dive into the idea that marriage is not always what makes these guys happy and sometimes they just want an out or a new experience since they are away from home and their family. They have been living a certain way for so long that they don't remember what it was like before. This side story gives the film a different direction to go for a few scenes here and there as well as a new topic to look deeper into, but overall doesn't really add anything to the story and I would even say, spends too much time on this topic.

During the Q&A session after the film we found out that there was only a mere outline for the film that became more fleshed out on the days of shooting (15 to be exact which is a feat in and of itself). I was honestly amazed they did all of this with only a small script, crew, very little equipment, and a very short timeline. However this makes sense when recalling scenes from the film because it seems that many of the characters go off into tangents that mean absolutely nothing or take a century to actually connect. I am not saying these are bad performances, in fact the mere ability and brilliance of some of these actors to ad lib entire scenes together is amazing to me. Mind blowing even. Nick Kroll described a few scenes to us in person and it was truly something you had to admire. Nevertheless, this knowledge both makes me love and loath scenes from the film. (As a disclaimer, I had this feeling for many of the scenes before I even knew this).

To summarize my slightly erratic review, Joshy is a very dark story that has twists and turns in some parts and ultimately just comes to a somewhat abrupt end. We get a deep view in the psyche of the 30-40 male who is trying to help their friend cope with a severe personal tragedy as well as deal with their own personal problems. This movie tells us that these guys just want to help Josh by getting "your bro laid and drunk and high as a kite" so that he can bury the pain. Only at the end when Joshy is confronted by Rachel's (Alison Brie) parents (SPOILERS) (they think he murdered her even though there is no evidence to it), do we see Josh finally come to terms with what has happened by breaking down and declaring how awful this has all been and how he cannot believe she would do such a thing to him. After that his friends (just like would happen in real life) tell him they are sorry and then all basically nod and accept what has happened and go back to having fun. Mind you, not drugs and drinking, etc. but playing a board game together.

Joshy has it's moments of perfect relation to real life and even delves into some very interesting topics, but has other moments that go too far and take away from the story at hand. I enjoyed the film for the most part and loved the performance of the cast. (I generally always love the performances of all of these actors to be honest). Thus, Joshy is a 93 minute film that will have you laughing and at some points slightly shocked and confused but by the end will have you thinking about the relationships and friendships in your life. 3 out of 5 stars.