Movie Newsletter

"Good One" is a journey story. A teenager agrees to a weekend camping trip with her dad, Chris, and a family friend, Matt.

On one level, the struggles are predictable: One character gets car-sick, another forgets a sleeping bag, another believes that he communicated certain requirements about his wardrobe (but in fact a miscommunication has occurred).

On a different level, everything is a surprise. Though it's a work of fiction, this seems to be a movie about real people (which makes it rare). Chris has issues with his contracting business, because he lies to clients, then expects the clients to be magnanimous and forgiving. He has cheated on his wife, then sought solace with a woman half his age; because he is under the young woman's spell, he has agreed to raise an infant (though he, Chris, is 60 years old). Also, Chris enjoys antagonizing his friend Matt (which is odd, given that neither Chris nor Matt is a middle- or high-school student).

The central teenager sees her father clearly, but she doesn't have any power in the relationship. She does try to fight for power. ("Can I drive?" "You said there would be another kid on this trip....Can we revisit that?" "These people nearby are strangers. Can we talk about whether we're really going to sleep next to strangers?") As Chris's carelessness becomes more and more problematic, we feel queasy for the teenager. Will she survive this weekend?

"Good One" is a crafty, engaging movie; the lead teen is unlike many other characters on the silver screen, and it's easy to root for her. I did find it odd that the writer did not acknowledge a debt to Maile Meloy's book "Both Ways..." (The plot seems to come directly from a Meloy story.) I'll continue to think about these characters, at least through my own upcoming weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfgjVKoMb4M

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