Mackenzie Davis

  • The F Word aka What If (2013)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, March 2022) It’s not necessarily a bad thing to discover a film several years after its release. In The F-Word’s case, it means not only finding a thoroughly engaging romantic comedy after the twilight of the genre’s commercially successful years at the box-office, but also a film that captures a few actors in an earlier phase of their career, in a way that makes us appreciate them even more. Daniel Radcliffe, for instance, has now pretty much overcome the weight of his Harry Potter years and become an interesting actor in his own right—but that wasn’t necessarily as true nine years ago upon The F Word’s release. Adam Driver has accessed to stardom since them, but here he is playing the protagonist’s best friend. Zoe Kazan is bubbly and fun here, while Mackenzie Davis has also become far more recognized in the interval. It helps that The F Word, faithful to its theatrical origins, trades on sharp dialogue and likable characters. In this case—a single disillusioned man agreeing to be friends with a woman in a long-distance relationship. Whether it can work is irrelevant—this is a good-natured romantic comedy and while the film plays with its ultimate release, it’s smart enough to recognize that we want those crazy kids to end up together. It would be a stretch to call the dialogue insightful or universal, but it is fun to listen to as the characters exchange ideas on the nature of relationships and whether to take it up to the next level. There are some weird turns here (including a wholly useless side-trip to Ireland), a deliciously misleading moment toward the very end of the film, and a few choice words between sarcastic leads. But The F Word, to its credit, knows when to let go and when to reel them in—the result is a wonderfully Torontonian romantic comedy. I’m glad I saw it, even if it took me nine years.

  • Tully (2018)

    Tully (2018)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, January 2019) As a parent who just got out of the first few tough years, there’s an innate relatability to Tully’s phantasmagorical premise that rings true—given the sleep deprivation during a baby’s first years, I’m not sure that any parent is actually totally sane during that period and this film runs with the premise. Charlize Theron adds another impressive notch to her multidimensional screen persona by playing an overworked, super-stressed mother of three, with Mackenzie Davis in a strong supporting role and Ron Livingston to tie the narrative threads together. As a portrait of parenthood, Tully is more ruthlessly honest than most other movies—there’s little idealization going on here, and we’re miles away from shiny mommy blogging. There’s a nice balance between domestic details and frustration and the more outlandish flights of fancy that the story requires. Reuniting with scribe Diablo Cody (herself a mother of three), director Jason Reitman doesn’t try to recapture Juno’s motormouth wit but wisely stays grounded given the third-act twists. Going closer to spoilers, I remain as dumbfounded as anyone as to the popularity of the “Fight Club in another setting” premise (taking over from “Die Hard in another setting”) as shared by Tully and near-contemporary Adrift—it’s a narrative strategy build on deceit and now-cheap revelations, and I’m not sure it’s a subgenre that will age well. Still, I found a lot to relate to in Tully’s sleep-deprived fantasies and can’t stay mad for long at the plot cheats that it needs in order to justify itself.

  • That Awkward Moment (2014)

    That Awkward Moment (2014)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, February 2016) There’s a sub-genre of movies that could be called (for lack of a better name) “forgettable romantic comedies featuring up-and-coming movie stars”, and That Awkward Moment is a perfect addition to that canon. Its most noteworthy feature is that it stars Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Zack Efron—while the third is already a star in his own way, Teller and Jordan both have other movies (Creed, Whiplash) that hint at their true acting talent. Here, they’re not actually asked to do any dramatic heavy lifting: the film coasts a long time on their basic charm, even as their characters aren’t particularly admirable. Another romantic comedy for men that celebrates immaturity and boorishness, That Awkward Moment is perhaps best appreciated as a fake-anthropological study of young males on the cusp of romantic responsibility, although by the time the Hollywood process is done with the film, there’s nearly nothing authentic left to see. Various bits and pieces work; other bits and pieces are just puzzling or unpleasant given the casual misogyny of the script. Imogen Poots and Mackenzie Davis do well as the female matchups for the male protagonists, and as usual in these kinds of films they’re far more level-headed and sensible than our nominal main characters. It doesn’t amount to much: by the end, That Awkward Moment is slight enough to escape making any lasting impression other than a vague feeling that this isn’t going to be one of the films that Jordan or Teller will highlight once they become authentic megastars.