Review of Thank You for Your Service (2017) by Connor S — 06 Nov 2017

At first, I had low expectations for this movie. Any film about the troops released near the end of the year has a good chance of being self-congratulatory Oscar bait. Plus, it's named after an American phrase that a lot of Europeans, mostly left-wing ones, mock mercilessly. I'm glad to say that I've been proven wrong, and Thank You for Your Service is actually pretty good.

The first thing you need to know about Thank You For Your Service is that it's based off of a nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel. The movie, or rather the book it's based off, recognizes its title for the meaningless platitude that it is. It casts a broad and unsparing accusation at everything in America that has failed its veterans: the VA, gun culture, ill-equipped family, military culture, and even other veterans, and the movie itself manages to translate this to the big screen. While the book is written in journalistic style, which is more descriptive, the movie opts to be dramatic, which is narrative-oriented. For the most part, this works just as well in conveying the core message, but there are some issues. One soldier's story got cut out completely. Although the acting, right down to the one-note jingoistic blowhards who are supposed to disgust you, is generally superb, I have to question the decision to cast Amy Schumer. She looks a lot like her real life counterpart, but the controversial comedian seems like an odd choice for a somber drama. Either way, she isn't around long enough for me to reach a conclusion.

Since this isn't the only movie in theaters right now starring Miles Teller in a true story about Real American Heroes from 2013, I can't help but compare it to Only the Brave. The big thing Thank You for Your Service does better than Only the Brave is how it juggles its characters and subplots. Unlike Only the Brave, family drama doesn't get neglected and plays a prominent role throughout the film. On the technical side, however, Only the Brave is the superior film. Thank You for Your Service relies on too many lazy techniques. For example, the film relies on overused shorthand to portray the "hood," namely shots of sneakers hanging from the telephone wires or of menacing figures from the point of view of a passing car to the tune of ominous music. Since it's not as well made as Only the Brave, I'd say skip this if you have to choose between the two, but if you're going to see both, you won't be disappointed.