For younger readers not well versed in last-century cinema, Heather Graham was one of the hottest ingenues in Hollywood throughout the 1990s; her greatest performance was arguably as Rollergirl in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Recently, she’s taken up writer-director duties (she made her debut in 2018 with a comedy called Half Magic) while continuing to star as well, and this sophomore effort impresses with its mildly acidic observations of contemporary mores. There aren’t exactly belly laughs in this tale of single yoga instructor Ann (Graham), but quite a few of zingers and bits that stick the landing nicely thanks to fluent direction and good comic timing from Graham and her excellent supporting cast, which is filled out by cracking actors who might not often be given as much spotlight as they get here.
That’s entirely fitting given that the plot, as the title might suggest, is all about the greater value of the friends and loved ones you make throughout life as opposed to the toxic monsters you’re saddled with at birth. In Ann’s case, that pretty much goes for her whole nuclear family, from zealous Christian wingnut dad (Michael Gross) and narcissistic mom (Julie Halston) to her admittedly damaged but still totally vile sister Clio (Julia Stiles, having fun sinking her teeth into the role). Graham’s script perhaps makes Ann just a bit too nice and a co-dependent martyr to these nightmare people.
