Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Dolly Wells, Ben Falcone, Gregory Korostiskevsky, Jane Curtin, Stephen Spinella
Directed by: Marielle Heller
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Comedy
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A writer (Melissa McCarthy) realizes she'll never achieve the fame and wealth she desires and stumbles upon forgery as a means to provide a living for herself.

Review:

Tim: I went into Can You Ever Forgive Me? feeling pretty excited about it. The film was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay). Those are three legitimate awards, and the film was a dark comedy based on an unbelievable true story. Unfortunately, I struggled mightily with this film. It never really entertained me. It didn't give me a reason to care about the characters or their struggles. In short, I'm scratching my head, trying to figure out why it was so well-received critically. This is one of those films where I fundamentally disagree with the majority of critics. It's an okay movie, but nothing more than that.

One of my biggest issues is that nearly all the characters were so unlikable. By all accounts, Lee Israel was a pretty awful human being. Melissa McCarthy really embraces this side of her character. She might occasionally be funny, but she's a miserable excuse for a human and spends most of the movie committing forgery, which results in her swindling a whole lot of people out of their money, including people who she supposedly cared about. I'm not sure why I was supposed to care about this character in the least. She might have been in a really bad situation, but it's one wholly of her own making. She ignores the advice of her agent, she's chased off anyone who could have helped her. I could not comprehend why I was supposed to be interested in her story. I didn't want her to succeed, but I didn't care enough to be invested in if she would get caught. She was such a bad character and McCarthy revels in the darker side of her character, but she forgets to build an emotional connection with the audience. She's all bad without enough humanity to make us care about her. For this reason, I'm a bit surprised McCarthy was nominated for Best Actress. Sure, it's a stripped down performance and she brings a certain energy to the awfulness of her character, but it wasn't nearly as complex of a performance as you would be led to believe. It was a change of pace for McCarthy, but the result is the same- an underwhelming movie.

Richard E. Grant was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He certainly brings a carefree, manic streak to the character. He's gleeful in his performance of this fallen guy, but again, why should we care about him? A lot of the movie is dedicated to the unlikely friendship struck up between McCarthy and Grant's characters, but it's one of desperation. Unsurprisingly, they are mostly awful to each other as well. I can see why Grant was nominated- his performance mirrors McCarthy's in many ways. It's easier to justify the Supporting Actor, rather than the Lead. Still, I'm glad both of them lost. I will say I was quite impressed with Jane Curtin's supporting role. She was tough, but managed to be funny and mostly likeable. She had heart- something the rest of the cast missed out on. Dolly Wells was good, but her character didn't get much of a payoff at the end. Final comment about the cast- I disliked seeing Ben Falcone here. He's fine, but it sure feels like he's riding his wife's coattails for all it's worth. I get casting yourself when you're directing a terrible comedy, but he really didn't need to be in this film.

Suffice to say, I didn't enjoy Can You Ever Forgive Me?. I suppose it was interesting to learn about Lee Israel, but I wouldn't say her story is one that we really needed to know about. I would have been fine living my whole life unaware she existed. This movie might have been different than the norm, but I really don't understand why critics liked it so much. It was only 1 hour and 46 minutes and it was a struggle for me to get through. I was really glad when it was over. I usually agree with the top movies at the end of the year, but this is one I simply couldn't get behind.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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