Wein, Daryl

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    ‘Something From Tiffany’s’ Review: Put a Ring on It

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    Zoey Deutsch shines in a story of an epic Christmas gift mix-up.Romantic comedies rarely go wrong when they include some combination of mishaps, mistakes and mix-ups — all those fateful accidents that bring together strangers and glorify the wonder of cosmic serendipity. A really piquant imbroglio is rom-com gold: see “The Shop Around the Corner” (adversarial co-workers unwittingly strike up a romance by mail), “I Love You Again” (a husband on the verge of divorce gets amnesia and attempts to re-woo his own wife), “While You Were Sleeping” (a train fare collector is embroiled in family drama after being confused for a comatose commuter’s fiancée), or any number of other classics of the genre.“Something from Tiffany’s” doesn’t quite have the Lubitsch touch. But it does boast a very charming premise, built around a truly ludicrous misunderstanding that I found impossible to resist. Gary (Ray Nicholson) buys his girlfriend, Rachel (Zoey Deutch), a pair of earrings for Christmas. Ethan (Kendrick Sampson) buys Vanessa (Shay Mitchell), his girlfriend, an engagement ring. After Gary is hit by a car outside Tiffany & Company, Ethan comes to his aid, and the two unknowingly swap gifts. When Rachel opens the ring on Christmas morning, she wrongly assumes that Gary is trying to propose to her. Gary doesn’t remember much about the night of the accident, so when he sees the ring, he thinks that maybe he is.It’s a winning setup, and the director, Daryl Wein, escalates the action shrewdly, with clever rom-com engineering. Rachel and Ethan are thrown together as a result of the accident and the resulting confusion of gifts, and they quickly sense a mutual rapport that might be more than mere attraction. Deutch and Sampson have an abundance of screen chemistry, and Wein lets it simmer, holding on glances as it builds slowly to a last-act boil. With her wry grin and screwball banter, Deutch is especially delightful, bounding through the cavalcade of holiday mix-ups with the buoyant verve of a bona fide romantic lead.Something From Tiffany’sRated PG. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. Watch on Amazon Prime Video. More

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      ‘How It Ends’ Review: What, You Expected Us to Tell You?

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      In this apocalyptic comedy, Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein count down Earth’s last day, measuring out the hours in serial conflict resolutions.In the apocalyptic comedy “How It Ends,” the Earth faces destruction by meteor at the end of the night. Here, the world ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with self-deprecating jokes and irreverent self-reflection.For her last hours before Earth’s expiration, Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) wanders Los Angeles, visiting family, friends and lovers in a search for spiritual resolution. In a metaphysical twist, the adult Liza is accompanied by the manifestation of her younger self (Cailee Spaeny).Among the standouts from the film’s deep cast are Helen Hunt as Liza’s mother, who offers a heartfelt monologue about not being meant for parenthood. Liza and her former best friend, played by Olivia Wilde, demonstrate their psychic bond through complicated and rhythmic overlapping dialogue. Logan Marshall-Green, as the man who got away, brims with brooding romanticism.The film’s writers and directors, Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein, ensure that each reconciliation has an arc that builds from confrontation to explanation to resolution, and they are also careful to ensure that each scene stands on its own. The film plays as a series of perfectly enjoyable sketches strung together, an excuse for veteran actors to chew on playful dialogue. Liza attempts to tie up the loose ends of her life in one day, and if it seems like she succeeds rather economically, the writing, ever clever, builds in an explanation for the film’s breeziness. The characters shrug off the importance of their revelations — it’s only the end of the world.How It EndsRated R for language and references to drugs and sex. Running time: 1 hour 22 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV, FandangoNow and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators. More