The Right One
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Clumsy romance addresses mental health; swearing, sex.
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The Right One
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What's the Story?
Sara (Cleopatra Coleman) is a soft-core romance novelist who has suffered writer's block since she broke up with her boyfriend in THE RIGHT ONE. Her fast-talking literary agent, Kelly (Iliza Shlesinger), thinks she needs a sexual encounter to get her creative juices flowing again and sets her up on a blind date. Across town, Godfrey (Nick Thune) is the unconventional top salesman at his company, where his antics -- like dancing around the office or wearing his hair in a gelled Mohawk -- are accepted due to his business results. At night, he takes on alternate personalities performing on various stages. When Sara witnesses him posing as different people at a gallery opening, she's intrigued. She hunts him down, and the two begin a friendship that offers fodder for her new novel. She begins writing again, but Godfrey's past trauma will put a wrench in things. When he discovers she's been using him as literary inspiration, he spirals into a deeper depression.
Is It Any Good?
Sometimes good intentions aren't enough to make a good movie, and unfortunately this one isn't very good. The Right One tackles the manifestations of a young man's past trauma as part of a story of two unconventional people falling in love. The problem is that the script doesn't address the roots of Godfrey's odd behavior until an hour into the film, leaving us with characters who just come across for the bulk of the story as self-involved, immature, or unlikable. Situations and dialogues lack the necessary subtlety to be as funny or as edgy as they're intended.
We see this with Sara and her agent-slash-friend Kelly, despite the best efforts of Coleman and Shlesinger. When Kelly tells Sara that her "manic pixie dream girl" shtick is wearing thin, she might be mislabeling the character, but we can't help but agree. When she tells her she's "mistaking crazy for interesting" in Godfrey, we know where she's coming from. Thune's Godfrey lacks the charisma or brilliance he's meant to exude. There are a lot of worthwhile ideas in here about dealing with mental health issues, the possible flaws of the foster system, and artists' need to create and be authentic to themselves, but the final jumbled result unfortunately falls flat.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how past emotional trauma is said to drive Godfrey's behavior in The Right One. When Sara asks him who he is, why does he respond, "Nobody"?
Does this film offer a positive or a negative portrayal of the foster system? Why? Where could you go for more information about how fostering works?
The characters talk a lot about drugs and sex, but we don't see them doing either in the film. How does this affect your perception of them?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: February 5, 2021
- Cast: Nick Thune , Cleopatra Coleman , Iliza Shlesinger
- Director: Ken Mok
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Black actors
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 95 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: language and sexual references
- Last updated: October 8, 2022
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