A new independent film attempts to blend grief and comedy through the story of former drama students reuniting for a countryside hike, but the result is a disjointed and often grating experience.
The premise—a group of middle-aged friends, once aspiring actors, gathering for a weekend trip—immediately invites skepticism. The concept of performers playing performers rarely resonates widely, and this offering does little to challenge that notion.
The narrative feels haphazard, as if assembled from unrelated workshop ideas. At its center is a couple grappling with the loss of their son, a storyline treated with a solemnity that clashes awkwardly with the film’s attempts at humor elsewhere. The surrounding subplots involve a mix of characters: a scandal-plagued movie star, a frustrated artist nursing a secret crush, a social media influencer with hidden affections, and a friend obsessed with a cryptic treasure hunt. These threads never cohesively weave together.
Further undermining any potential authenticity are cartoonish local characters and a plot contrivance involving hallucinogenic mushrooms, which comes across as a clumsy narrative shortcut. The production itself suffers from noticeably uneven performances, a low-budget aesthetic, and choppy editing that disrupts any possible flow.
Ultimately, the film struggles to find its tone or purpose, leaving the viewer with a sense of a missed opportunity rather than a meaningful, or even entertainingly bad, cinematic journey.
