literaryhumanist
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
2 years, 3 months
Reviews
On the Count of Three (2021)
Wonderful Debut Film, Nonsensical Message
I watch Jerrod Carmichael's special "Rothaniel" before watching this film. I loved it. I'm a bigger fan of feature films than comedy specials, so I thought I was going to love "On the Count of Three" even more. And while I enjoyed the film for the most part, the ending and overall quickness of the film left a sour taste in my mouth. Spoilers by the way.
Not counting the credits, the film is only eighty, eighty- five minutes at most. That's not a bad thing by any means. I do believe you shouldn't waste time. But there are a few additions that would make the film stronger from an emotional perspective. Adding a scene or two more with Henry Winkler as the awful therapist would make his death more meaningful. We know he's a bad dude from the two scenes he's in, but the lack of specific traits or backstory makes the character seem less like an evil human and more like a being in passing. Winkler is more alluded to be evil rather than acting as a proper antagonist.
Similar critique can be said of Tiffany Haddish's character Tasha. She's the primary motivator for one of our two main characters. Yet we only get one solid scene of character development. The main problem is we don't get a view of Val and Tasha's relationship before the events of the film. Why Val became so distant in the first place apart from depression? Why wasn't his first instinct to talk to her about these feelings? I understand the audience can fill in the blanks on some things, but considering the ending, the relationship needed a little room for exploration.
My final major gripe is the ending. Kevin following through on his suicide whilst Val goes to prison. The final shot is Val spending time with his daughter in a prison Father's Day party. I like the sentiment of Val finding purpose through raising his daughter, but he lost as much as he gained which makes ending far more sad than I think Carmichael intended.
Val lost his best friend and went to jail. Not because of his own faults, but because of Kevin's reckless abandon. I understand Kevin had nothing to lose, but he also makes it clear how much he cared about Val. Kevin wouldn't want Val to go to prison because of him. The ending makes a lot of sense, but doesn't allow for a lot of emotional weight. Which considering the main theme of the film is suicide, is disappointing.
I'll finish this review with a summary of the good things. The film's mood, tone, and setting are fantastic. It nails the "depressing dead-end town" feeling. The performances by Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, and Lavell Crawford all have great moments of fun and sadness. And the country-esque soundtrack is not all that present, but fits like a glove for a film about depressed outsiders.
I enjoyed this film overall, but I don't see myself returning to it anytime soon. It's a decent one-and-done kind of film that seemed to need a few deleted scenes added back in to make it great. But for a feature film debut, Jerrod Carmichael is doing good and I'm excited about what he'll do in the future.
Not counting the credits, the film is only eighty, eighty- five minutes at most. That's not a bad thing by any means. I do believe you shouldn't waste time. But there are a few additions that would make the film stronger from an emotional perspective. Adding a scene or two more with Henry Winkler as the awful therapist would make his death more meaningful. We know he's a bad dude from the two scenes he's in, but the lack of specific traits or backstory makes the character seem less like an evil human and more like a being in passing. Winkler is more alluded to be evil rather than acting as a proper antagonist.
Similar critique can be said of Tiffany Haddish's character Tasha. She's the primary motivator for one of our two main characters. Yet we only get one solid scene of character development. The main problem is we don't get a view of Val and Tasha's relationship before the events of the film. Why Val became so distant in the first place apart from depression? Why wasn't his first instinct to talk to her about these feelings? I understand the audience can fill in the blanks on some things, but considering the ending, the relationship needed a little room for exploration.
My final major gripe is the ending. Kevin following through on his suicide whilst Val goes to prison. The final shot is Val spending time with his daughter in a prison Father's Day party. I like the sentiment of Val finding purpose through raising his daughter, but he lost as much as he gained which makes ending far more sad than I think Carmichael intended.
Val lost his best friend and went to jail. Not because of his own faults, but because of Kevin's reckless abandon. I understand Kevin had nothing to lose, but he also makes it clear how much he cared about Val. Kevin wouldn't want Val to go to prison because of him. The ending makes a lot of sense, but doesn't allow for a lot of emotional weight. Which considering the main theme of the film is suicide, is disappointing.
I'll finish this review with a summary of the good things. The film's mood, tone, and setting are fantastic. It nails the "depressing dead-end town" feeling. The performances by Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, and Lavell Crawford all have great moments of fun and sadness. And the country-esque soundtrack is not all that present, but fits like a glove for a film about depressed outsiders.
I enjoyed this film overall, but I don't see myself returning to it anytime soon. It's a decent one-and-done kind of film that seemed to need a few deleted scenes added back in to make it great. But for a feature film debut, Jerrod Carmichael is doing good and I'm excited about what he'll do in the future.