The following review is for the new Netflix streaming film Finding Me Falling, starring Harry Connick, Jr. This article does not contain significant spoilers.
The new Netflix romantic-comedy Find Me Falling feels like it was initially a dark comedy about suicide that was rewritten into a Hallmark-esque, eye-rollingly saccharine, sickly sweet, and downright manipulative genre picture because some studio executive paid for it and had to push it off the script scrap heap. It isn't very good.
In fact, it's downright awful, with so many generic genre cliches, it should be called "trope-a-dope."
Find Me Falling is precisely what you think it's going to be. The plot is contrived, and the dialogue is unnatural and forced with heaps of exposition. And perhaps worst of all, the fish-out-of-water story fails to immerse you in a different country's experience.
Harry Connick Jr. in Find Me Falling (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Netflix's Find Me Falling Review and Synopsis
Find Me Falling follows John (Harry Connick Jr.), a depressed musician mulling over retirement. To help him decide, he leaves the United States and pulls a Dave Chappelle, not telling anyone where he is going, including his family and staff. He buys a tiny home on a cliff on the island of Cyprus and notes that the real estate agent gave him a great deal.
Well, that's because the location of his house is a popular destination for those who want to commit suicide. (Think of it as the Golden Gate Bridge of Cyprus.) After the first night, he had to call the local police because he witnessed someone dive that morning. As a result, he befriends the local sheriff (Tony Demetriou) and a local singer, Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney).
However, the next day, when out to dinner with his new friends, John runs into an old flame he has been holding a torch for, Sia (Agni Scott), who broke his heart years earlier. Yes, either John is a stalker, or that's quite a coincidence
Harry Connick, Jr in Find Me Falling (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Netflix's Find Me Falling Has All the Hallmarks of a Genre Cliche
Initially titled The Islander, Find Me Falling is a Hallmark genre film that Netflix is trying to monopolize in the market (think of the streaming giant trying to gentrify the entire television landscape like a big box store). The film looks great with natural landscape shots, but that doesn't mean Stephan Metzner's cinematography is of any quality. There's nothing remarkable about it.
This includes the script by director Stelana Kliris. The dialogue is painfully awful to listen to and creates an uneven tone due to the slow delivery. Someone will say something outlandish and then be offended when someone takes it the wrong way. In the most romantic moments, Connick or Scott will repeat the line back to the other.
Take the scene where John returns the cell phone to Sia. Then, watch a rom-com like Notting Hill, where Hugh Grant tells Julia Roberts to “stay forever,” and note the difference. The script even makes the critical mistake of not giving the audience a frame of reference with flashbacks to see what happened to them in the past compared to the present day.
Agni Scott and Harry Connick Jr. In Find Me Falling (2024) | Image via Netflix
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Is Netflix's Find Me Falling Worth Watching?
Netflix's Find Me Falling is not worth watching unless you are a fan of the Hallmark romance film genre or a fan of Harry Connick, Jr., who has quite the following with women of any age. He and Scott are perfectly fine here with the material they are given.
At the very least, Scott looks like a woman of a certain age instead of the male lead falling for a woman who could be his daughter. That being said, since Netflix offers such a wide variety of genres, is it fair to judge the film on a higher artistic level? Yes, Find Me Falling has higher aspirations than your general rom-com manipulative film.
The tiny plot twists are painfully transparent. The supporting characters, especially Whitney's turn, are painfully wooden and stiff, and most are stereotypical. Lastly, the jokes are clichéd and don't incite laughter or amusement. This is a generic, repurposed rom-com that sets the genre back and does not set it apart.
Summary: Netflix's romantic comedy Find Me Falling does nothing to set genre apart. In fact, it may set it back. Grade: 3/10 |
Harry can sing but he cannot act. He does not know how to use a hammer either.