Misanthrope A. J. Fikry (Kunal Nayyar) owns a failing book store on a remote island. He has been despondent since the death of his beloved wife. His valuable rare Poe book goes missing. Someone left a toddler at his store. His only friend Daniel (Scott Foley) is a successful novelist. Ismay Evans (Christina Hendricks) is his former sister-in-law. Lambiase (David Arquette) is the local cop investigating his missing book. Amelia (Lucy Hale) is a book salesperson.
This is based on a best selling book. It's very literary. What I mean is that it's probably much better as a book. As a movie, it feels meandering and struggles to fit into the classic three act structure. First, this starts with a pet peeve switcheroo. Lucy Hale seems to be the lead in a single gal quirky romance comedy. It's really Kunal Nayyar's movie. I got faked out and I don't like it. Then there is the book. I know that David Arquette is playing it for laughs, but it just infuriated me. AJ should just tell him that it's worth half a million dollar. I expected more work in the investigation, but that too goes missing for awhile in the movie. Finally, a baby pops up out of nowhere. Again, all of this seems like great fodder for the written page. On the screen, it feels like it's missing something. This movie needs to really sell AJ's bitterness and anger in its introduction. The book should probably be worth less because it's too valuable to be dismissed. Finally, the book should be the climatic reveal. I get the appeal of AJ's ending, but a rewrite may be required.
This is based on a best selling book. It's very literary. What I mean is that it's probably much better as a book. As a movie, it feels meandering and struggles to fit into the classic three act structure. First, this starts with a pet peeve switcheroo. Lucy Hale seems to be the lead in a single gal quirky romance comedy. It's really Kunal Nayyar's movie. I got faked out and I don't like it. Then there is the book. I know that David Arquette is playing it for laughs, but it just infuriated me. AJ should just tell him that it's worth half a million dollar. I expected more work in the investigation, but that too goes missing for awhile in the movie. Finally, a baby pops up out of nowhere. Again, all of this seems like great fodder for the written page. On the screen, it feels like it's missing something. This movie needs to really sell AJ's bitterness and anger in its introduction. The book should probably be worth less because it's too valuable to be dismissed. Finally, the book should be the climatic reveal. I get the appeal of AJ's ending, but a rewrite may be required.