For clarity’s sake, all of the things I say about Brett Haley in the intro to my review of his latest, Hearts Beat Loud, is absolutely true: I’ve never spoken to him one on one, but I have seen him speak, twice, two years in a row, at Independent Film Festival Boston, where in both appearances he showed his quality: The very highest. He has a good heart. I wish he made better movies.
But I like Hearts Beat Loud much more than I like his last movie, 2017’s The Hero, in large part because the former corrects a mistake made in the latter: It pairs its leads better. (The Hero, for my money, should have put Krysten Ritter in the Laura Prepon role and vice versa. But what do I know?) I also like Hearts Beat Loud because it’s just frothy, foamy fun. (Also: Ted Danson, basically the best actor ever, is in it, tending bar and smokin’ good kush.)
You can check out my review over at Paste Magazine.
A Constant Visual Feast 