Good Kisser

The content of this review will be mostly me listing positive things about Good Kisser. Because I think this movie did a lot of things really well. So why am I giving it a mixed review? Because for all the things Good Kisser does right, it has one fatal flaw; it’s a dramedy. And I’m deeply biased against dramedies. As with so many films in this genre, I feel like trying to thread the needle of being both drama and comedy ended up with a movie neither as funny or as dramatic as it had the potential to be.

The film opens with a couple you can immediately see should break up. But Kate and Jenna aren’t breaking up, they’re going on a date with another woman named Mia. And just like so many couples on tinder looking for a “unicorn”, Jenna and Kate don’t realize that introducing a third to your relationship won’t solve problems, it will probably only exacerbate existing issues.

Right away, we’ve got a great premise. Simple in details with the potential to be so many different things depending on execution. Also right away, we establish characters and relationships. It’s really admirable how writer/director Wendy Jo Carlton is able to introduce you to these strangers and so quickly establish their personality, opinions and relationships. In general, Carlton shows really, really admirable control over this story. She knows what she’s doing and how to do it. This is assured character work and filmmaking.

It’s of course a shame to me personally that Good Kisser is a dramedy. I can’t really say this movie is funny. It almost is. It often feels like scenes or lines are setting up to a punchline, but it never really delivers. Because this is also a drama. So, as much as Jenna and Kate’s relationship is awful in a way that could be funny, it also has to be awful in a way that’s dramatic. And the drama wins out over the comedy. But the comedy still exists, so some things that deserve a deeper look are glossed over. The film is really about a woman who’s deeply pressured into an uncomfortable sexual situation she doesn’t want to be in. That’s certainly not a funny premise. But because Good Kisser isn’t all the way drama, we also never dig quite as deep into how fucked up that is.

I think Good Kisser would’ve worked better as a drama. Carlton’s observations on relationships are far too cutting and “real” to work for comedy. As much as Kate especially sucks, it’s not an exaggeration. One thing that works so well about the movie is how real it feels. These characters, relationships and situations are all things that definitely happen in real life. Maybe not to you, but to your cooler friends who have threesomes. And within the situation, there’s lots of really astute observations that apply outside of this fictional world. Carlton shows such a good grasp of relationships and how to depict them onscreen. But again, real relationships aren’t necessarily funny. And Carlton’s success is definitely more in the realm of making them feel relatable and insightful than making them feel comical.

Yet for all that I dislike dramedies, one huge positive about Good Kisser is how engaged I was with the story. From scene one, these characters felt familiar, the situation was interesting and I was constantly intrigued to see how this would play out. There’s tension and really good pacing in this low-stakes relationship drama. Another win for Wendy Jo Carlton.

Damn, if I liked dramedies, maybe I would have no problems with this movie. Though as much as I’ve phrased much of this review as my personal dislike of the dramedy genre, I don’t think my critique is wholly subjective. I’ve seen dramedies that I’ve enjoyed, ones that do thread that needle of drama and comedy to give you the best of both worlds. I just don’t think Good Kisser is one that quite manages it. It’s a really admirable attempt, and there’s still a lot of positives about this film. But at the end of the day, dramedies killed my family and stole my dog so I hate them all on principle.

Overall rating: 5.6/10

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