Review of Keep the Change (2018) by Lee M — 21 Dec 2018

An incredibly ambitious romantic comedy from first-time feature film writer and director Rachel Israel, 'Keep the Change' has a nearly all-autistic cast and it's wonderfully refreshing. A romantic comedy, that's unique, in that, the love interests both have autism on and off the screen. For studios and filmmakers it has become simple and unfortunately commonplace to take the easy way out and cast an actor who isn't autistic in these rolls. I have so much respect for what Israel does here.

At it's heart, this is a film about inclusion and an illustrative look at how people with special needs live. It should be seen by as many as can find it. Are there continuity errors? Yes. They should be overlooked for the sheer will it must have taken to get this done. In an odd twist I don't think the short film that Israel did a few years prior is nearly as good. It has mostly the same actors, but they are clearly more polished in the feature. You won't know the players other than Jessica Walter (Arrested Development), but that's a big reason this film works. It feels like a documentary. I also can't get over how funny this was. And not the kind of funny where you're laughing at the characters. There were numerous LOL moments. This is a momentous film in an era of inclusion. Final Score: 8.5/10.