Review: Hard topic treated with earnestness, heart in ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’
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Movies that feature a parent dying from cancer when they have young children often feel more manipulative than authentic, and when it's a straight-to-streaming movie, that feels even more likely. But Julia Hart's new movie "Don't Say Good Luck," currently streaming on Netflix, manages to avoid the worst inclinations of this kind of drama, instead giving us an earnest and heartfelt look at the realities of being a teenager losing a parent and a parent saying goodbye to their teenager.
Sophie Birenbaum (Sunny Sandler) is auditioning for her school's production of the musical "Waitress." As she goes through the process of auditioning, her mother, Elizabeth (Melanie Lynskey), is learning that the cancer she thought was beaten has returned. The desire for everyone to lead a normal life in these decidedly not normal circumstances means that there are hurt feelings, but each time the truth comes to light, it draws people closer together.
"Don't Say Good Luck" does a remarkably good job of taking tropes you would see in this kind of movie and using them in unexpected ways. Right out of the gate, Sophie gets the role that Mallory (Elyse Bell), the cute blonde who goes to acting camp, wanted. However, instead of this becoming a contentious point, the two remain friends and support each other. Her best friend, Carolyn (Scarlett Estevez), supports her while living her own life, without making either girl a villain. When Sophie says that she needs more rehearsal, her teacher, Ms. Parker (Stephanie Beatriz), doesn't try to reason with her about her mom's illness, she just helps out. Over and over, we see the women support each other, rather than this becoming something catty or competitive.
The cast is truly wonderful. All of the actors listed above were fantastic, as were Max Greenfield as Sophie's dad and Jack Champion as Sophie's love interest. Bebe Neuwirth and Steve Buscemi have great cameos as Elizabeth's parents. Sandler continues to grow as an actor. The film showcases her singing, and she shines there as well. But it is Lynskey who brings so much heart to her performance and elevates "Don't Say Good Luck" beyond other films with similar themes.
This film includes a fair bit of singing in it, mostly songs from the musical "Waitress." The performances across the board are really solid. I particularly enjoyed Champion and Sandler's rendition of "Bad Idea," which they pull off incredibly well. It leans toward a "pop" version of these songs, but nevertheless, they are well done and fun to watch as the movie progresses.
Losing a parent is hard no matter when it happens, but that pain can be amplified when you are still a child who needs that person in your life. What "Don't Say Good Luck" shows is that even when there is a loss, life still goes on. Sophie's life has ups and downs apart from her mom's cancer, and Elizabeth still has to make decisions that are best for her, even when that hurts Sophie. But even with all of that, there is still love, and that doesn't require any luck.
Rating: 4/5
Alise Chaffins is a freelance and Tomatometer-approved film critic.