FilmSnobReviews

Title: International Falls
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Amber McGinnis
Starring: Rachael Harris, Matthew Glave, Rob Huebel
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

What It Is: At a hotel in International Falls, MN we have a mother of 2 children Dee (Harris) an aspiring stand-up comic who’s in a loveless marriage with her husband Gary (Glave) who Dee knows is cheating on her. When Tim arrives to play some sets at her hotel Dee starts to pick his brain since he’s a stand-up comedian (even if he doesn’t want to be). Now the two are each other’s solace in International Falls…a place so nice you may not want to leave.

What We Think: I love this movie! I loved Rachael Harris’ performance. I’ve always found her an absolute gem in anything and everything she’s done. Rob Huebel plays a much more low-key version of what we normally get from him and it ABSOLUTELY works. Amber McGinnis brings it in her sophomore effort. This is a tightly constructed rom-com with a gigantic heart in the middle of it. The snow-covered scenery is beautifully shot and it looks great. I walked into this one based solely on what I thought of the poster which had a very twee quirky look to it. Never does the film devolve to my preconceptions a true feat.

Our Grade: A-, This one here is a gem! In short, if you’re able to find this on your VOD platform do it! This is one of my surprise favorites of an odd 2020 so far. Often times you get a Rom-Com between really young people. Teenagers as with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before or beautiful twenty-somethings as with something like Crazy, Rich Asians. Here we get people who’ve lived a life. People who’ve been through the washing machine cycle and dryer of existing. It’s an honor to see if either or both come out on the other side. This is an easy “see it” for me.