Long Weekend

This unusual romcom is as delightful as Chao's welcoming smile. It's a mystery with a bang of a twist; it's not quite meta, but it's definitely metaphorical, and it presents an aspirational romance that's positioned as impossibly possible. In Bart, writer-director Steve Basilone offers a character who may be helpful and comforting to teens: Sometimes everything goes wrong, and it's bad. Bart is glum but keeps putting one foot in front of the other, taking the necessary steps to move forward. He's been recognized for writing a well-received piece of work but accepts that sometimes you have to take a boring job to pay the bills. His fiancée broke up with him, and he's only got $300 to his name, but he does what he has to: moves into his best friend's garage. And, yes, he had to be hospitalized when life's stresses became a mental health crisis, but such is life. Pragmaticism isn't exciting, but he demonstrates that sometimes we can't swerve over the bumps in the road of life; we just have to take them. Things will get better.

That "better" is where Long Weekend instantly picks up, like the sun defiantly ripping through the clouds on a rainy day. The script's fantastically witty banter makes it feel like Bart and Vienna are the modern update of Nick and Nora Charles ... including the drinking. But even when Vienna isn't around, the dialogue pops, thanks to scene-stealing comedic actors who are known for always delivering (Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson, Wendy McLendon-Covey, and Jim Rash). The film isn't always plausible, but it is enjoyable. And while the story may not be relatable for all viewers, it reminds us that we've got to hang in there when life gets tough, because something -- or someone -- wondrous could happen at any moment.