Title: Gus<\/p>\n
Screened at: SXSW 2013<\/p>\n
Directed By: Jessie McCormack<\/p>\n
Starring: Radha Mitchell, Jon Dore, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Weston<\/B><\/p>\n
Writer-director Jessie McCormack\u2019s \u201cGus\u201d is an actor\u2019s film and she knows it, keeping a light hand on the camera and letting her cast take the lead in bringing the characters to life in a notably natural way. Radha Mitchell, Jon Dore, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Weston make for an absolutely delightful quartet, all relatable and real in their own ways, resulting in both hearty laughs and honest drama.<\/p>\n
Lizzie and Andie (Radha Mitchell and Michelle Monaghan) are best friends. In fact, they\u2019re so close that when Andie winds up pregnant after a one-night stand, she offers to give her baby to Lizzie who so desperately wants a child, but can\u2019t conceive. Trouble is, part of the arrangement requires that Andie move in with Lizzie and her husband, Peter (Jon Dore), during the pregnancy and Andie\u2019s free-spirited ways don\u2019t exactly match up with Lizzie and Peter\u2019s quaint lifestyle. Complicating the situation further, Peter\u2019s brother, Casey (Michael Weston), is released from rehab. Afraid he\u2019ll relapse if he lives alone, Peter insists that Casey come stay with them as well. Throw in Lizzie and Peter\u2019s adorable dog, Joyce, and you\u2019ve got one very crowded home.<\/p>\n
\u201cGus\u201d touches upon some weighty issues and packs a good deal of emotion, but it\u2019s all nestled neatly into a delightful and highly entertaining environment. McCormack has a knack for delivering characteristics and situations that feel vaguely familiar, but in creative, fresh and often very amusing ways. The piece opens up particularly strong with a concise yet telling sense of their lives through a mere casual phone call that very clearly labels Lizzie and Peter as the quintessential couple, and Andie as the eccentric friend. McCormack then adds a layer to Lizzie and Peter\u2019s relationship by following them to their therapist\u2019s office. Rather than use the opportunity as an excuse to douse us in exposition, she highlights one of the couple\u2019s main issues by having Mimi Kennedy\u2019s Dr. Grayson simply blurt out that their problems are mundane and bore her.<\/p>\n
While \u201cGus\u201d is loaded with uniquely memorable moments, McCormack does slip a little when it comes to the progression of the relationships. Some major moves feel unwarranted, but by the time the characters are making these life-changing decisions, we\u2019ve already been so charmed by Mitchell, Dore, Monaghan and Weston that it\u2019s easy to overlook certain plot holes and reconsider the script missteps as a way of accepting these people for who they are.<\/p>\n
At first, Mitchell\u2019s Lizzie appears to be the more straightforward character of the bunch. She\u2019s a homemaker who so genuinely loves her husband. However, as the film progresses, Mitchell delicately reveals additional layers until the character utterly explodes in an emotional yet almost darkly comic tantrum. Dore puts up a fine performance as well, but Peter is the least developed and therefore least engaging of the group. All four wind up making drastic changes to their lifestyles, but as people, Peter\u2019s the only one who still feels like the same guy.<\/p>\n
Monaghan\u2019s Andie, on the other hand, not only has the steepest arc, but is also just an especially colorful character. Her tendency to laugh at inappropriate things is harsh at first, but the more you get to know her, the more you appreciate her quirks. But, even while playing such an eccentric character, Monaghan manages to keep her in control just enough to make the path she takes very sensible. While Weston doesn\u2019t get as much screen time as the other three, he still manages to earn one of the more drastic and satisfying transitions, and makes the assist in a good deal of the film\u2019s funnier gags.<\/p>\n
But more than anything, it\u2019s the group dynamic that makes \u201cGus\u201d such a winner. They\u2019re strange, rigid, silly and occasionally offensive, but it\u2019s that unpredictability and the cast\u2019s honest chemistry that makes them pleasant to spend time with and makes you want to stay by their side when things get complicated.<\/p>\n
![\"Gus](\"http:\/\/g-ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/G\/01\/imdb\/plugins\/rating\/images\/imdb_31x14.png\")