A South American stunner
And, with Pedro and Lucrecia newly separated, although still sharing meals, holidays and custody of the kids, there really is no reason for Lucrecia not to indulge a summer fling. Except, life is never that simple.
And with apparently-to-be-ex Pedro also throwing himself back into the dating pool and both kids having caught the eye of a couple of toothsome locals, the stage is set for what could be a broad and funny farce of seaside sex, sun and shenanigans.
But writer-director Ana Katz (My Friend from the Park) has much more in mind for Florianopolis Dream than a few laughs and a quick round of esconder la salchicha.
Pedro and – especially – Lucrecia (played by Argentinian veterans Gustavo Garzon and Mercedes Moran) are perfectly drawn characters.
Their backstory – one is a psychologist, the other a psychiatrist – is never the subject of cheap laughs, but it provides a seam of gentle satire for Katz to mine.
The web of relationships, between the parents and the children, with each other and between Lucrecia and the also well-drawn Marco are all credibly and economically sketched in.
There are no ‘‘life lessons’’ here, thankfully, but a small evolution of the family’s dynamic is deftly and likeably realised.
There is simply not a false note or convenient loophole in the script or anywhere on the screen.
Every choice – of casting, setting, costume, everything down to the battered brown Renault station wagon the family get about in – seemed to be perfectly and intelligently chosen.
Florianopolis Dream is a funny, entertaining and enjoyable couple of hours.
It is also an ambitious, nuanced, beautifully well-performed and gorgeously insightful film, convincingly dressed up in the threads of a farce. Good Boys (R13, 90 mins) Directed by Gene Stupnitsky Reviewed by Graeme Tuckett
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. There’s a loose trio of teenage boys. They’re nervous around girls, but obsessed with the idea of sex and romance. They know of a party coming up soon, where the object of one boy’s – ahem – affections will be. The boys form a plan to learn more about ‘‘kissing and stuff’’ to prepare for the party. Sounds pretty dire, no? And much like a film you’ve seen at least a dozen times already.
But, Good Boys, possibly because I walked in expecting it to be as much fun as filling out a tax return while getting a root canal, actually turns out to be a smarterthan-average, nicely calibrated and more-or-less modern take on the hoary old genre. It is a likeable movie. As the three leads, Jacob Tremblay (Room), Keith L Williams (Cora) and Brady Noon (Boardwalk Empire) sketch in a believable trio, with a Stand By Meesque chemistry spiked and studded with some inventively and occasionally hilarious profanity. There is no nudity or notable violence in Good Boys. That R13 rating is earned by dialogue alone.
Young Max’s quest to kiss classmate Brixley is played a lot less creepy than the genre once accepted, with the boys talking with each other about the importance of consent and respect.
The genius of Gene Stupnitsky’s script is that he makes this storyline work at all in the 21st century, without once sounding forced or hypocritical.
A bit of physical comedy involving a borrowed drone and drug deal gone wrong is deftly assembled and takes care of the film’s opening act in modestly inventive style and a bring-thehouse-down musical number brings the film to an end in style.
Good Boys is a funnier and more thoughtful film than I was expecting. It’s kind of a shame the 12-year-olds who would get the most from it, aren’t allowed in the door.