Fate plays an enormous role in the new Sony Pictures film, Long Weekend. Often, the best on-screen romances that centralize their narrative journey around the idea of that fateful word are the ones that not only find an audience, but they exponentially touch people due to the fact that the story, the performances, and the idea of time and its infinite possibilities strike a chord and resonate.
Long Weekend stars Finn Wittrock as Bart, a fellow we meet at the tail end of a pretty epic tailspin—spawn from a fiancé who left him and a subsequent mental breakdown that still has him garnering worry from doctors, and his friends. Then, he meets Vienna (Zoe Chao, Where’d You Go, Bernadette?) at an afternoon repertory screening of the beloved Peter Sellers dramedy, Being There. She’s from out of town, knows nobody in Los Angeles, and invites this man she just met to get drinks.
To say they hit it off is not only an understatement but does a disservice to the connection between these two. There is something electrically unspeakable going on here. That magic is just one spoke of an endearing celestial force in the film’s wheel of equal parts romance, comedy, science fiction (yes, sci-fi!), and drama.
Writer-director Stephen Basilone makes his directorial debut with Long Weekend and it’s a hearty swing for the fence. From its wickedly original storyline, fantastic performances elicited from his leads (and supporting cast) and spotlight on mental health, the auteur has bit off quite a bit for his first feature. Although he may not have hit a grand slam, Basilone certainly has cleared the bases and wholeheartedly impressed.
The artist has some serious chops, having written for Community, The Goldbergs, and the gone-too-soon joy that was Happy Endings. That was where Basilone met two actors in Damon Wayans, Jr., and Casey Wilson. The Happy Endings veterans portray the married with kids couple, Doug and Rachel. The pair are longtime pals of Bart, especially Doug—who we learn has known his BFF since elementary school. He has gone over and above in the friend department for Bart, especially since his breakdown.
When it comes to Vienna, Doug and Rachel are genuinely happy for their friend. He’s moving on! It’s just that there are a few red flags that concern them. She doesn’t have a cell phone, carries lots of cash, and is elusive when it comes to facts of any kind about her life. Also, Vienna has a secret that she says will explain all of that. When that is revealed to Bart, he mostly believes her. His married pals, not so much—especially Doug. Given his pal’s mental history, he’s not sure that getting any deeper involved with this woman is good for him at this point on his journey.
But alas, he does… after all, this could be love—like the real thing. Sure, she says she cannot stay in Los Angeles for much longer. Bart hopes that the tsunami of adoration that the two shares will be more than enough to keep her in the City of Angels.
So much of this endeavor working or not lays with the script and how it’s laid out, coupled with the fact that Long Weekend doesn’t remotely come close to working if the viewer doesn’t feel that passion and utter adoration emanating from our two leads. Honestly, the entire cast has to inhabit this world seamlessly and believably and they more than do.
Wittrock has the supremacist of challenges in tackling a gentleman whose writing career isn’t where it should be, his living situation is in flux (he’s moving out of the apartment he shared with his ex and into Doug and Rachel’s house), and his mental issues were so serious that Basilone fills his film’s opening with repeated voicemails left for Bart from his doctor’s office, and eventually from the doctor herself. This is a fragile man, who finds happiness in the arms of a mysterious woman who has him simultaneously beyond blissful and slightly suspicious.
The actor nails it. He brings a nuanced and layered turn to a character who we as the audience are rooting for to find happiness. Nothing more, nothing less… just to (re)discover the joys of life and living. In the hands of Wittrock, his Bart is a man whose life is palpable to us and that is thanks to the supreme gifts he wields in what had to be the toughest of roles. Mental illness is tough to capture in physical form due to its cerebral nature. Plus, any performer worth their salt will want to capture someone going through any kind of emotional struggle with not only an appreciation for what the hundreds of millions who suffer from these issues live with every day but do it justice. He should be proud. It’s one thing to perform well and move that narrative ever forward towards a conclusion that feels real and authentic. It’s a whole different animal to capture a mind and a soul that is not 100-percent. Kudos to Wittrock for a simultaneously sensitive and searing portrayal—all while keeping it firmly within the prism of the tone of the story itself.
Chao too has a thespian obstacle course to tackle with Vienna. Her character’s mystery must be delivered and embraced with a grasp on reality that could not feel more authentic. There also needs to be layers of a haunting romanticism coupled with the sense that she is one-half of a couple who potentially does not have a future. It’s tricky, but in the hands of the Providence, Rhode Island native, it appears effortless. We all know it was anything but easy to get to that place where she gifts us Vienna in Long Weekend.
She and Wittrock leave us with a sublime sentimentality that is contagious. The film is one of those that should benefit from a solid heap of word-of-mouth. It’s not one of those rom-coms with drama (and sci-fi, lest we forget) that is a carbon copy of something you’ve seen before. Audiences for these films are wickedly intelligent and have seen it all. Not only is Basilone’s debut cinematic effort charming, but it provides something fresh for fans of this milieu to dive into and bask in its originality.
Wayans and Wilson are a delight. Can we move into their garage? That should hardly surprise as both comedic actors have delivered divine performances whenever they appear. Wayans, for one, did some serious scene-stealing in two recent releases—Cherry and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Other ensemble members of note include Wendi McLendon-Covey’s Patricia, who is Bart’s loves a good alcoholic shot landlord, and Oscar winner (for writing The Descendants), and Community alum Jim Rash. He portrays Bart’s potential boss to be and both performers had to read Basilone’s script and just wanted to be a part of its magic, no matter how small the screen time.
Basilone showcases his gifts throughout and only has slight issues with pacing. Look for those bumps to dissipate with his next feature. He clearly has a command of the comedic aspects of writing, but surprises with his textured character creation and narrative twists and turns that were completely unpredictable. Not once did we have any idea how Long Weekend would conclude, and that may be the filmmaker’s greatest gift of all.
For those of us who believe that everything happens for a reason, this film lands firmly in your ballpark. Of course, you don’t have to share that view to enjoy Basilone’s work. But by the conclusion of his film, that sentiment is as thick as can be without hitting you over the head with it. In fact, it plays a major role and contributes to this being one of those films that when those credits roll, expect to go back over what you’ve just experienced and realized that although we do not know why at the time, in fact, you guessed it—everything happens for a reason.
Grade: B+