Title: Carousel
MPA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Rachel Lambert
Starring: Chris Pine, Jenny Slate, Abby Ryder Fortson
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

What It Is: Noah (Pine) is a doctor living in a suburb outside Cleveland, and everything in his life seems to be going well. His daughter loves him, and he and his ex-wife seem to be getting along swimmingly. But when his former flame Rebecca (Slate) comes back into the picture, it throws everything into a loop. With expenses piling up and the veteran doctor nearing retirement, it is all proving to be too much.

Likewise, Rebecca is returning from a stint on Capitol Hill in Washington. She, too, is dealing with selling her parents’ home, her childhood home, and helping them move into a new condo.

What We Think: This is such a romantic tinder being relit moment for our two protagonists. They feel like a couple who lost each other, and when that chemistry from the past hits, boom, you are suddenly back where you were. That kind of ignition is rare in life.

What stinks is how dull some of the execution feels. It is a beautifully romantic premise let down by a script that does not always give the characters enough to work with.

Our Grade: B-, Man, I loved this film so much, and I really wanted it to be more than it is. Chris Pine and Jenny Slate are doing phenomenal work here. Even if the whole affair is a bit uneven, the overall package is so well put together that I did not really care.

Rachel Lambert’s previous film, Sometimes I Think About Dying, is terrific, so I had high expectations, perhaps too high. Nonetheless, I think all my rom-com baddies will love this one and should check it out once it is available.

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