This very touching love story bills itself as a comedy, but in reality I also found it profound, making it interestingly compelling. The film is good and reminded me a lot of 50 First Dates, but with an interesting twist. In that film it was about the medical disability of short term memory loss and in Ode to Joy it’s something called Cataplexy, a symptom of Narcolepsy. Although both movies do involve making comedic light of the illnesses they portray, the handling in each is done will affection and sincerity.
A librarian in Brooklyn, Charlie Green (Martin Freeman) has a problem. Whenever he feels joy he faints, so he must think unhappy thoughts to keep himself awake. His brother Cooper (Jake Lacy), a single man, has always kept close to Charlie making sure he doesn’t hurt himself when he falls. It’s a huge task, but the two get along very well considering the weight that’s on Cooper’s shoulders.
One day in the library Francesca (Morena Baccarin) and Marvin (Adam Shapiro) enter chatting loudly and even end up in a shouting match. When it finally simmers down with the help of Charlie, the two break-up. Right away you can see that Francesca may have a problem keeping men or may even have a psychological problem of her own when it comes to men. Point of case, she prompts Charlie into setting up a date with her which he reluctantly does with the urging of his fellow employees.
Their first date ends badly, but it’s not long after that Cooper feels he may have a shot at a relationship with Francesca. Thus begins a situation comedy that puts Francesca, her roommate Bethany (Melissa Rauch) and the two men in a duel for partners. It’s Director Jason Winer’s debut for the big screen and he handles the script by Max Werner (TV’s “Red Oaks”) and first time feature writer Chris Higgins pretty well. Especially since the film is dealing with delicate matters and needs kid gloves, and that the production team does well.
It’s all in the acting, and Martin Freeman puts in his best effort with a performance equal to Adam Sandler’s in 50 First Dates. Freeman puts a lot of love into Charlie, making him a determined and adorable man. It’s very memorable and genuine and never really gets over played to offend.
As for Morena Baccarin she’s out of her skull playing the whimsical woman who’s going through life testing the waters for any man who can put up with her impulsiveness. I love her performance as she’s all full of herself and when she’s feeling unhappy can’t seem to come to grips as to why. Bold and sometimes brash, the chemistry between Charlie and her is heartfelt in an inspiring way.
Ode to Joy has been rated R by the MPAA for some language and sexual references. It’s a modern day romance and it shows in the openness about sex and love that each of the characters shows throughout.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good date and married couple’s night out flick. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Martin Freeman, Morena Baccarin, Melissa Rauch, Jake Lacy, Jane Curtin, Shannon Woodward, Adam Shapiro
Directed by: Jason Winer
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: R for some language and sexual references
Running Time: 1 hr. 37 min.
Opening Date: August 9, 2019
Distributed by: IFC Films
Released in: Standard
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
