Movie Review: Goodrich

There is a well-known screenwriting paradigm known as the Three-Act Structure, which states that a screenplay has three acts. The first act sets up the characters and the main part of the story. The second act creates a major conflict peak, which is resolved in the third and final act.

The new movie "Goodrich" starring Michael Keaton is one of the few films I have seen that violates this well-known screenwriting paradigm. The main character Andy Goodrich, played by Keaton, who owns an art gallery, wakes up to find out that his wife is in rehab and wants a divorce. The remainder of this story is about a long series of bad luck events, and problems with Andy's 2 children including his daughter Grace with his previous wife, played by Mila Kunis. Then the Goodrich art gallery is failing and about to go bankrupt.

This major departure from what most would expect from a story like this is ultimately what is best about this movie. This story is about real life, not a movie where there might be a happy ending. This is not about the nice person who has been getting the worst of things and who finally triumphs over major obstacles. We want movies to work the happy way because the conflict resolution and the nice guy winning in the end is why so many millions of people go to the movies in the first place. All of us also know that this is not how real life works. Just because someone is nice and deserving does not mean things will ultimately work out for them. Life is a long series of conflicts and attempted resolutions with no guarantees of success. This one unique drama/comedy movie does a great job of showing a real-life story, not a generic Hollywood happy ending. This one fact and the excellent acting and story make this film a standout.

Other actors in this film are all very good in their roles, including Kevin Pollak who works in the art gallery, Andie MacDowell as Goodrich's x-wife and Carmen Ejogo who plays the daughter of a famous late artist who betrays Andy. Hallie Meyers-Shyer, wrote and directed this film and produced a real-life, believable story.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for Goodrich are way too low 68% with my rating a 85% rating and a solid recommendation.