Long Story Short movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Long Story Short

Available on Amazon Prime now!

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 30 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL:

This Australian rom-com reminds us how quickly time passes. Josh Lawson writes, directs, and stars in this cute movie. I always get a kick out of time-loop movies. Time really does go by fast, so this feel-good film really touched my heart. It’s funny and charming and celebrates the idea of YOLO (You Only Live Once), so don’t take your precious time on this earth for granted.

THINGS I LIKED:

Rafe Spall is a revelation. He has fantastic comedic timing and is so much fun to watch. He was in the films Prometheus, Hot Fuzz, and The Big Short.
Zahra Newman is lovely.
The cast also includes Ronny Chieng, Dena Kaplan, Noni Hazlehurst, and Ben Taylor.
There’s a reference to the movie Groundhog Day. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. There’s also another reference to Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I think the title of the film is clever.
I loved the ending. So sweet.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The very first words in the movie are WTF. That instantly turned me off and I wondered if all of the characters were going to be completely foul-mouthed during the entire movie. Luckily, it’s not that kind of a movie, although almost every character does swear.
Not all of the time transitions run as smoothly as they could. It makes sense when the protagonist falls asleep and then wakes up a year older, but sometimes he’s just standing there and a year passes.
It’s pretty predictable.
The time-loop “magic” is pretty contrived. I suppose they all are though, right?
Some of the characters talked about something called a “poonie” something or other. I have absolutely no idea what that is. Hey you Australians, is that a thing there? What is it?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity and F-bombs
Talk of sex
Talk of homosexuality

THEMES:

Time
Procrastination
Marriage, divorce
Parenting
Communication

FUNNY LINES:

“You know Groundhog Day isn’t a documentary.” – Sam (Ronny Chieng)

INTERESTING LINES:

“There never seems to be enough time.” – Teddy (Rafe Spall)
“I often find ‘later’ turns into ‘too late’.” – Noni Hazlehurst (The Stranger)
“I’ve always thought being alone makes you lonely, but you’ve shown me that being lonely is when you’re with the wrong person.” – Becka (Dena Kaplan)
“Why are you trying to make everything perfect? It’s life. It’s never going to be perfect.” – Noni Hazlehurst (The Stranger)
“Every second that you wait is a second you will never get back.” – Teddy (Rafe Spall)
“Life is too short to not do what you love.” – Teddy (Rafe Spall)