Delayed Reaction: Am I OK?

Premise: Two best friends in their 30s find their relationship at an impasse when one realizes she is gay and the other is set to move to London.

 

There’s the Sundance I know and love. If I’m imagining a hypothetical Sundance movie, I’m picturing a dramedy with familiar actors that’s coming-of-age and about friendship. It’s not a movie that’s swing for the fences in terms of stakes. The biggest concerns are interpersonal and it doesn’t clean everything up by the end. Am I OK? is all those things. It’s got Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno as codependent best friends who I just want to hang out with. Each friend is going through their own major life change at the same time. After years of disinterest in dating, Johnson comes to terms with the fact that she’s gay at 32. As evidenced by her coming out so late despite hospitable surrounds, she’s slow to embrace her new/true identity. She’s self-conscious about hitting so many benchmarks late and doesn’t know how to navigate the new opportunities. Generally, that struggle would be enough to sustain a movie, but at almost the same time, Sonoya Mizuno gets a job offer in London. It’s a huge opportunity, however she’s understandably nervous about upending her life. So, neither friend is able to fully put their focus on either’s needs.

 

It hard to separate this movie from the screenwriters: real life couple, Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro. In particular, Allynne came out pretty late in life too, which I imagine informs a lot of the Johnson portion of the movie. And Notaro is just plain one of the funniest people alive. Neither Johnson nor Mizuno have Notaro’s dry delivery, but I think you can feel Notaro in the gentle humor of the movie. It doesn’t go for big set pieces. It would much rather mix a quip into a serious discussion.

 

My biggest issue with the movie is a necessary one I run into with a lot of similar movies. I like Johnson and Mizuno together so much that the portion when they aren’t talking to each other drags some. They need to be apart to make the climax of them reconnecting satisfying, but it struggles to replace their relationship with something equally enjoyable while they are apart. Again, I don’t know the solution here. Someday a screenwriter will figure it out and I’ll demand they win the Pulitzer. The individual scenes are helped by the fact that both actresses are really lovely. It’s crazy how much more I like Dakota Johnson with each performance she gives. Mizuno is new to me, but I hope to see her again soon. This has a strong supporting cast too with Jermaine Fowler as Mizuno’s longtime boyfriend and Keirsey Clemons as a potential love interest for Johnson. Molly Gordon is a hoot as Mizuno’s very extra work friend. And don’t worry, Tig Notaro does show up to steal a scene.

 

I can’t come up with a reason to dislike this movie. For obvious reasons, it reminded me a lot of Life Partners which was also an entirely charming, impossible to hate movie. Perhaps Am I OK? leans into being empty calories. That’s about the worst thing I can say about it.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend