Review of Kelly & Cal (2014) by Jeffrey S — 25 Feb 2015

This movie features a nice understated performance by Juliette Lewis as a former punk rocker making a very awkward transition to being a mom in suburbia and not much else. Well, Cybill Shepherd gives a pleasant performance in a supporting role. What really turns me off of this film is that at times it is too cute, and ultimately it assumes things will work out even though it shows the audience that things are not working out. Johnny Weston is giving it his all but quite frankly I find his character annoying and so are the rest of the supporting characters. Kelly's husband and sister-in-law are so boring and uninteresting it hurts.

This film is not terrible or bad, but it's not great or very good either. It's a nice vehicle for Juliette Lewis to show off a different side of her acting ability and I wished she got more diverse roles than the ones that have been given her throughout the years.

The film left me wondering what it would have been like if it took a more irreverent tone and stepped up on the comedy rather than be so serious throughout much of the story. I would have definitely liked it if the supporting characters were more humorous and/or if Cal was played with less pathos and possibly given a rougher edge.