Like the Frank Sinatra song proclaims in repeated refrains, Jo Johnson always did it her way. Known as "that damned Johnson girl" in the sleepy ocean-side community of Camden Bay, Jo has returned to her roots with her young daughter Maddie Lou in tow, as she battles her husband over custody during their bitter divorce. Her goal in returning home is to keep the ex-husband as far as possible from her daughter.
Apparently, Jo has made a habit out of upping and leaving in critical moments of her life. In college, she had an affair with Scott. For a brief period, they were a couple of young idealists. Scott intended to travel to South Africa for humanitarian reasons. Jo had her sights set on Costa Rica. But neither Scott nor Jo was true to their word and never fulfilled their career dreams. Their relationship ended abruptly when Jo simply walked out on Scott, never informing him of her decision to dump him and never contacting him again.
Much to Jo's surprise, she is reunited with Scott in the gossipy town of Camden Bay. Scott is now happily married to Laura, the girls' soccer coach and a wonderful mom to their young son Kevin. Now living next door to Scott and Laura, Jo feels the romantic sparks rekindling every time she sees Scott...which is often! Will Scott have the courage to inform Laura of his past liaison with Jo? Will Jo and Scott be able to restrain themselves, especially when they both hit rock bottom and find themselves alone together in the rat-infested studio where Laura is working on her glass projects?
"Gossip" (a.k.a., "The One That Got Way") goes overboard in its depiction of a small town prone to gossip. The most ludicrous subplot is a burglar on the loose, riding a bike and wearing a hoodie, as he steals from people's homes. The rumor mill even points the finger to the prodigal daughter Jo, who has returned to Camden Bay at the precise time that the robberies began.
The film succeeded on the basis of the interesting set of characters, particularly the character of Jo, who is nicely performed by the lead actress. The strength of her character interpretation is that Jo is not one-dimensional and not even entirely likeable. In the story, Jo's bossy sister-in-law Sandy even wants to take little Maddie Lou away from Jo, due to her mom's wayward behavior.
The film's major theme has to do with the special mother-daughter relationship, which is apparent in Jo's connection to her crusty, strong-willed mom Carolyn. There is also a semblance of the emerging bond between Jo and little Maddie Lou. Without a doubt, some of Jo's life choices were imperfect. But, in the end, she is proud to be able to say with authority that, "I did it my way."
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