Fix: Romantic Comedy, Stranded Strangers, NYC, Chris Evans, Bearded Chris Evans
Platforms: Netflix
Netflix Summary:
When a young wife is robbed before boarding a train to Boston, she meets a free-spirited musician who stays with her on the adventure of a lifetime.
FYA Summary:
A professional trumpet player rescues an out-of-town woman who’s had her purse stolen, and missed the last train out of Grand Central Station. They spend the night wandering through New York City, sharing confidences, and getting up to unlikely adventures, before inspiring each other to take some risks in their lives.
Familiar Faces:
Chris Evans as Nick
I don’t really buy Chris Evans a trombone player. But I do buy him as a dude who rescues damsels in distress, while looking like a bearded Captain America.
Alice Eve as Brooke
Brooke is married and in New York on business, when everything goes wrong for her, except for the part where her knight in shining armor is Chris Evans.
John Cullum as Harry
John Cullum is only in the movie briefly, but he is an American treasure, and should be revered as such. (If you never had to watch 1776 in your middle school history class, then I’m very sad for you.)
Couch-Sharing Capability: More For Me
I don’t know about you, but it’s January, and it’s cold. I need the entire sofa for my slanket and bowl of M&Ms. Also, husbands and boyfriends aren’t always as into spending two hours swooning over Chris Evans, unless he’s wearing spandex and carrying a shield.
Recommended Level of Inebriation: Dealer’s Choice
You’re going to need more than M&Ms. I mean, it’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but I would recommend some tossing something back to get through the less believable hijinks. The people onscreen seemed like they could use a glass (or three) of wine. Have some on their behalf!
Use of Your Streaming Subscription: Evans-tastic
There are four Chris Evans movies currently on Netflix. This one is better than Playing It Cool, but not as good as Civil War. I can’t even with the fourth one that’s like about the mob or something. (If you’re still flush with holiday gift cards, I really just recommend renting Gifted on Amazon.)
Before We Go is Chris Evans directorial debut, and it’s a solidly competent outing. But I didn’t really connect with either of the characters as much as I wanted to. (Your mileage may vary.) However, I did learn two valuable lessons: Memorize your best friend’s number, in case your phone dies in an emergency. And if you get stuck in a strange city, make sure your rescuer looks like an Avenger.
