If FRIENDS had a spinoff, and Adam Driver was cast as Ross Geller...

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2019)

Flanked by an allstar supporting cast, watching this 135' reminds me of Woody Allen films that has comedic moments but end up a bittersweet story about breakups with people whose fundamental difference is Hollywood vs Broadway - it was perhaps never meant to be.
At times, especially the scenes with the amazing Alan Alda, feels like Woody Allen comedy, and in other scenes with Ray Liotta & Laura Dern it becomes fiery courtroom sparring. While the acting is great by both Adam Driver and Johanssen, the bickering becomes overbearingly long-winded - as if a fun guest had over-stayed their welcome by making their host listen to the same joke and the only difference being how they lead into the joke... In the end, I feel the only things great are snippets of the two leads performance, and almost all the scenes with Alda, Liotta, and Dern, made me wanting more.
This could have been a great bittersweet comedy about being in love while you cannot even like each other enough to break bread without fighting over small things like how to squeeze a tube of toothpaste. I can only blame the script and the director for this oversight. While the improv singing and end scene allowed Adam Driver to shine, this would have been a better story for Woody Allen or Whit Stillman to tell... in fact, probably Rob Reiner also would have made this better than the overrated flick it is.
As to Best Actress performances for 2019, I'd say this one holds no candle at all compared to Renee zellweger in JUDY (2019), but I digress...