FEEL-GOOD MOVIE

Here Today, 9.50am, 10.40pm, Sky Premiere

BILLY CRYSTAL, a little greyer but no less cheeky, co-writes, directs and stars in this bittersweet comedy. He plays Charlie Burnz, a veteran comedy writer whose heyday appears to have passed. Into his life bursts aspiring singer Emma (the always-energetic Tiffany Haddish), and the duo forge an unlikely friendship, sparking off the same generational divide that otherwise makes Charlie feel like a dinosaur. But the odd-couple humour soon gives way to sadness. Charlie is in the early stages of dementia and is becoming lost in memories of his late wife and increasingly estranged from his family. The film comes alive when Crystal and Haddish (pictured) are together, and they make it easy to forgive the story’s more mawkish moments.