Table 19 (2017)

**Brilliant, but panned by predictable critics** (SPOILERS TOWARDS END!) I don't always agree with (or heed warnings) from movie critics; perhaps because I used to be one myself in a nation wide magazine many years ago -- but if a movie has a 40% rating on Metacritic, I admit it rarely bodes well. Still I watched this, largely due to the involvement of several favorite actors and the script having been written by the Duplass brothers. I found it almost instantly both funny and moving, and the longer I watched, the more confused I became as to why most critics had been lukewarm or downright dismissive of it. I figured it had to be mostly due to the genre blend of comedy and more dramatic issues, and that probably most of the criticism had been along the usual lines of "can't make up it's mind', etc. But even so, that didn't add up to a meager 40% rating, with such a clever script and great acting. When the credits rolled, I knew instantly why: A happy ending... It all mostly works out in the end for the oddball protagonists. Critics in general can't stand it. If a movie has had a degree of realism and/or several dark or borderline dark-ish issues brought up along the way, critics tend to go ******* unless it all ends in misery, or largely unresolved, or at the very least in ambiguity. God forbid you walk away from such a movie actually feeling good; that equals 'cheesy' in most reviewers book. Was it realistic that most of the people involved got a happy, somewhat romantic ending? Of course not, but though the movie tackles several 'real' issues within the comedy, I found the ending perfectly fitting with the tone of it. Critics often use the word 'predictable' about anything that has a hint of romantic comedy in it, but I'd say, there are few things as predictable as movie critics in general. If you want to read what I consider a spot on review for this, check out Empire Magazine, who went against the stream and gave it 4 out of 5 stars.