Every Day

When I read the premise, I felt it was a rip on the YouTube series, without giving credit. But I decided to watch it anyway. And, I really enjoyed it. Since its a teen romance type drama, something I haven't watched since my own teens back in the 80s, I watched it without that fore knowledge. The only YA I watch are sci-fi or fantasy based films.

So, to watch Every Day and to still have it hold my attention and keep me captivated, without all the flash bang effects of other CGI multi-million $ productions, it did a very good job. Time is precious to me and taking it out to watch a film, I usually wouldn't watch and yet still enjoy as much as I did this one, was well worth it.

The portrayals were great and the lead did an awesome job.

The romantic comedy and drama series, are two genres that often go hand and hand. Unfortunately these movies often lack in the unique department, copying each other's story like Hallmark copies its own plots. Yet, they still reign supreme in the movie world, unafraid to remain the cute, cuddly, and melodramatic. This weekend though, another book adapted to movie takes a shot at relieving us from this mundane rush, to add a little flair back into the romantic atmosphere. My review, as you can read, is on Every Day, starring Angourie Rice and a mess of other young actors. What is in store? Read on to find out my friends.

LIKES:

Acting: Many romantic comedies involving teenagers are often overacted performances that are not easy for me to stomach in the volumes I see movies in. Every Day on the other hand manage to keep the acting in check, with performances that felt like kids in every day high school. As the central character, Rice did a fantastic job of handling the teenager caught between so many lives that require her energy to invest in. As for the remainder of the cast, all the extras from the jerk boyfriend (Justice Smit) to the final host of A all have their parts to play, and each represent there lifestyle stigmatism well. Such a dynamic cast kept things fun, and the story more intriguing than the run of the mill romance.

The Morals: The story is primarily a love story, but amidst the kissing, hugging, and cuddling is a strong series of ethical dilemmas that the characters must face. It starts with the common moral dilemma of finding respectful love vs. settling, teaching young kids that love does exist outside the realms of popularity and physical aspects. Soon Rhiannon (Rice) starts crashing into things such as familial discord, self-identity, and trying to move on from something because it's the right thing to do. Her ever changing opposite (A) also has plenty to face with his powers too, as each person he inhabits has issues themselves that constantly challenge his happiness and ability to have a life he so desires. These head scratchers are perfect for the young minds to soak up into and good refresher for any, leaving you reviewing your own ideas upon exiting the theater. Nevertheless, these ideas are well-baked into the tale, perfect to drive the story more.

The Twist: Let's face it, romantic comedies have difficulty with surprising me, the plots so predictable and similar that one can't help but try to fight sleep sometimes. Every Day's twist to the story doesn't defy the predictability in terms of ending, but the concept itself is the intriguing part to this story. The premise of having your love interest switch to a new body every day crosses a bridge most people haven't attempted to and it worked for me. Seeing what new adventures they would go on, how they would solve the next problem, and even how they would make this whole endeavor work were some of the questions keeping me invested in the movie. However, the biggest question of who or what A is, that is the real thing I tried to figure out. So many mysteries amidst the romantic atmosphere makes this movie stand out.

DISLIKES:

The Predictability: The movie has such a unique twist, one was hoping to have a unique ending in the works as well. Every Day's presentation may stand out, but it's ending falls back in line with the usual endings that this genre is famous for. While a bit vague at points and somewhat lackluster given the build-up they were providing. However, one should be able to see the ending coming from a mile away, and despite being on the realistic, ethically inclined side, it still lacks the emotional shine you had hoped to see.

Problems Swept Under the Rug: I mentioned how much I liked the ethics in this film and the real life portrayals of the problems that plague the world. I also would have liked to see those problems have a little more development, pacing, and satisfying conclusion than what I got. The love aspect get the most attention, there's a surprise, but as for the other dilemmas, well they get the quick treatment. Some of these make sense because again they are one life A must live and maximize, however Rhiannon's family problems are ones that she has to live with constantly, so perhaps they should have cultivated a little more integration of these problems into the movie. It would have made an interesting side story to help integrate her family into the picture, providing yet another aspect to help with this awkward relationship.

Unrealistic: No duh, a person switching lives every day is totally unrealistic, however that's not the component I'm talking about. Instead, Rhiannon's unrealistic component is how little her school work and discipline suffers despite skipping as much as she does. If many had pulled the antics she did, they would have been expelled, fortunately the power of love seemed to have rescued them. This component is ignorable to most, but for me it was cheesy and unobtainable, only taking away for the story.

Unanswered questions: The movie invests an entire ten minute dialogue to try to explain the origins of A's powers. As such, at the end I was hoping for some actual answers and hopefully get a nice tie up to A's journey of body invasion. Once again, story fails to fill in the gaps, giving little information to clarify the fog of A's life, in favor of teaching a lesson about moving on. Yeah, they took the emotionally stirring route, but in terms of story, they should have closed this book much better in regards to answers.

MY VERDICT:

Every Day breaks the mold on the typical romantic comedy presentation with its unique concept of a lover switching bodies with each passing 24 hours. All the morals that come with this responsibility add an extra layer to the a generic plot, helping to keep your mind engaged instead of rapidly decaying into a lazy sponge that rom coms have come up with. And those twists that seemed so admirable, didn't quite reach the pinnacle of what I'm sure the book was able to accomplish. Problems are ignored or swiftly wrapped up, the ending still remains predictable and sadly the questions raised are left only slightly answered. Therefore, this romantic comedy stands out on some qualities, but still drowns in the mundane tactics that Hollywood has become. So worth a trip to the movie theater? Mixed results on this, but overall hold out for Redbox or a date night film at best.

My scores are:

Drama/Fantasy/Romance: 7.0 Movie overall: 5.5

This film was far better than I expected. With a unique plot that embraces our changing society, 'Every Day' feels like a breath of fresh air in the teenage romance genre. While it does conform to some of the stereotypical conventions, it's fantasy elements allow it to feel different and therefore more interesting than many romance films. Saying that, it's not fantastic as it is rather generically shot, the plot becomes fairly predictable, and it is rather forgettable. Still, it was entertaining while it lasted and paced well enough to never let you feel bored. 6/10

Here is my two cents about the movie "Every Day". I wish I could still discuss movies, TV shows, actors and actresses on IMDB message boards. Those boards were shut down about a year ago. I don't think I am the target demographic for the movie because I am really old. My movie going is very sporadic. And I usually loath any movie about changing bodies, time travel, coming back from the dead or any rubbish like that. I think the preview caught my attention because it made me think of my friend Jayne (not her real name).

I have lived over 18,000 days. Two of my best days were when Jayne was visiting from about 1,700 miles away. Those were two of the happiest days of my life. The first one was a big surprise because I hadn't seen her in about 20 years and wasn't sure what to expect. Jayne is biracial and bisexual. I think she is biawesome. And "Every Day" is an LGBT related movie and did deal with race a little. I'm not gay. Notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat. Gay kids had a very rough time when I was growing up. I hope it is easier for them now.

It would be awesome if Jayne or someone like her could hang out with me everyday. And it wouldn't bother me if she did it in different bodies. The movie made me think of having a great time with new friends back in the day. If Jayne was in a different body maybe she could sign to let me know it is her. Both of us are hearing people and fluent in American Sign Language.

I don't go to the movies often so the only actor or actress I recognized was Maria Bello. Sometimes it is beneficial to watch a movie featuring actors you are unfamiliar with because you have no expectations. It was interesting to see Justice Smith as A then as Justin.

I started thinking about changing bodies. I would not want anyone else in my body. And I would not want to be in someone else's body ... except for maybe Mariah Carey. I am left handed. How would that work? If someone was in my body they would assume my voice. But what about my accent? What about speaking different languages? What about playing musical instruments, playing sports, etc.? What if the host body got sick, injured or died? What if A got the host body or someone else pregnant? What if A turned bad and broke the law? I guess A only occupied bodies that were the same age so that may have decreased the chance of an issue with the age of consent.

I read a review that described Justin as "neglectful". That was a horrible choice of words. Inattentive is probably more accurate. And maybe he was a little immature. Some young women get tired of immature boyfriends and seek older guys. I would not recommend that. It is a good way to find a pervert like R. Kelly.

You just have to accept its science-fiction or fantasy central conceit because there's never really an explanation, though nor should there have been, and, while its concept is often explored and does certainly play a large role in the narrative, 'Every Day (2018)' definitely doesn't otherwise occupy those two genres as it's deeply rooted in teen-romance territory - fairly realistic and grounded teen-romance territory, at that. It's obviously enhanced by the premise but not really dictated by it, despite the interesting and looming presence it has. The flick may sound like schlocky, sentimental fare but it is far from the sort and actually navigates it's unique narrative rather deftly, quickly getting you on board with its 'out there' elements and making sure that every incarnation of its body-swapping character feels like a proper continuation of the same person. It's never too predictable or clichéd but does usually play it pretty safe, aside from its satisfyingly ballsy and one-step-ahead-of-the-audience ending. It also doesn't go far enough in certain directions that may be tried-and-tested, but are only so for good reason, to compensate for the fact that it also doesn't quite stretch far into its newer territory to be anything other than surprisingly good for what it is, though. It's much better than I was expecting, but the core concept does feel like it could've been explored further. Perhaps that's something to be saved for another day. 6/10