Here Today

 3/4

Starring: Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish, Penn Badgley, Laura Benanti, Audrey Hsieh, Anna Deavere Smith, Louisa Krause

Rated PG-13 for Strong Language, and Sexual References

"Here Today" blindsided me in two ways.  First, it takes a situation perfect for a sitcom and gives it depth and feeling.  Second, it takes a movie that was well on its way to earning a spot on my Top 10 list of 2021 and blows it with an ending that tries too hard.  For a movie that spent nearly two hours developing two characters with tenderness and insight, the fact that it ends on a scene that feels so artificial and dishonest really made me mad.

Charlie Burnz (Crystal) is a comedy legend, having written and produced some brilliant comedies over the years.  He's now a staff writer at a "Saturday Night Live"-sh TV show as his career winds down.  One day he has a special lunch with Emma Payge (Haddish).  She won a lunch with him in an auction.  Technically, her boyfriend did, but she stole his chance to meet the legend after he cheated on her.  One bad reaction to shellfish later, and their lunch ends up with them in the emergency room.  The two soon connect and find that, however different they are from each other, they enjoy each other's company.  But Charlie is suffering from a form of dementia, and while Emma quickly figures it out, he hasn't summoned up the courage to tell his children, Rex (Badgley) and Francine (Benanti).

Ironically, "Here Today" does not get off to a strong start.  Although both Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish are brilliant comedians, their differing comic styles don't always mesh well.  Haddish is brash and energetic while Crystal is understated and sardonic.  Opposites occasionally attract (such as in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles"), but here there's a chemistry mismatch.  Once they start exchanging emotions, the film finds its groove.  The film never loses its acerbic sense of humor, but the connection between the two is the beating heart of the film.  It is no surprise to me that the stars became good friends during filming.

Billy Crystal can always be counted on to bring in a laugh; his presence on screen is usually enough to bring a smile to my face.  But he is an actor as well as a comedian, and he brings both to the film.  There are times when he could have just brought a tear to the eye and called it a day, but no.  He generates a real sense of pathos and of a man that is losing his mind.  And knows it.  Tiffany Haddish isn't quite as successful on a dramatic level, but she is bubbly and likable.  More importantly, we sense that Emma truly cares for Charlie.  Also, the actress gets to show off some singing skills.  Bonus.

There are several supporting performers, although since this is primarily a two-person show, no one stays around long.  Penn Badgely adds his low-key charm to Rex, but the usually buff actor is so skinny that it's surprising to see that it's really him.  Laura Benanti plays Francine, who is such a bitch that it's impossible to believe that no one except Emma seems to notice.  And Audrey Hsieh is adorable and funny without making things go gooey.

The film offers some behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of a live sketch comedy show.  These scenes are written with the ring of truth, and it is interesting to watch them unfold.  They also have a sense of pathos as Charlie's career is close to closing and he is kept around more for sentimental value than anything else.  Many of these scenes go on for too long, including an incredibly painful scene where Charlie has a meltdown on live TV.  It's treated as a joke, which feels simultaneously soothing and uncomfortable.

Where "Here Today" goes wrong is in its ending.  After taking Charlie's condition seriously for much of the film, Crystal makes the mistake of going for a happy ending that the film neither earns nor requires.  I won't spoil it for you, but turning his condition into a gimmick for a forced ending is a bad move.  It's not what happens that bothers me, it's how Crystal handles it.  It takes a serious situation and uses it as an excuse to shamelessly drain the tear ducts, and puts a band-aid on a lifetime of pain.

It really bothered me.  It broke the spell that the film so carefully weaved and I felt cheated.  I don't mind happy endings to movies like this, but they have to be earned.  Manipulative as it was, "The Notebook" did this.  "Here Today" does not.

All in all, I did enjoy this movie.  I just wish it could have stuck the landing.

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