Dan Levy has made a name for himself, if he already didn’t have a famous name as the son of legendary comedic actor Eugene Levy, for the Emmy-winning series Schitt’s Creek. Now he has branched out to write, direct, and star in the latest dramedy from Netflix called Good Grief. It seems like this was a passion project for the prolific filmmaker/actor. The title says it all.

Marc (Dan Levy) is throwing a Christmas party with his friends and family when the unthinkable happens. A tragedy of an unspeakable nature befalls his lover Oliver (Luke Evans) He was an author who had a book deal and once he passed this caused financial hardship for Marc. His friends Thomas (Himesh Patel) and Sophie (Ruth Negga) try to console him but the only thing they can do that makes sense is go on an excursion to Paris where they co-own an apartment together. The longer he and his friends remain in Paris though the more secrets he finds out about his deceased ex-lover.

Levy is known as a comedic actor similar to his father in that regard but once the tragedy happens at the beginning of the film things start to get serious for his character and the story. There is an undercurrent of some comedy but this movie takes itself and the passing of the Evans character very seriously. Let’s be honest though, is this the type of guy Levy’s character could attract in real life if this were a real situation? Probably not. He fights above his weight class in that regard. That’s not the point of the story though so I’ll give it a pass. 

Patel and Negga add an element of two people who support their friend in a good way. The comradery between them seems very genuine and Levy did a good job casting people who would fit these roles very well. On the other hand, Evans as a buff gay lover of Levy seemed like a little bit of a stretch. His father David Bradley from Harry Potter fame has a good moment in the funeral sequence showing genuine emotion and gravitas. He usually doesn’t get these types of roles but he makes the most of his little time on screen. The cast as a whole is relatively good.

The main thing about this story is the title. The grief that Levy’s character has is handled very well by him, hence the title. He does and says things that would make sense in this situation. He has depression and anxiety over what happened and has a hard time acclimating back into society after this tragedy.  His friends react accordingly in this situation as well by consoling him and trying to be there for him. This takes up the bulk of the story and it’s handled perfectly by Levy and company. 

Good Grief is a story about gay lovers with one of them passing away in the first five minutes of the film. The rest of the movie could be pretty anticlimactic or cliched but it’s not. Levy handled this situation very well. His comedic background isn’t necessarily here but he does mix in flares of comedy here and there. The cast includes Hamish Patel and Ruth Negga is very solid. David Bradley takes a surprising turn as Evans’ character’s father. As a whole, this is a fine film but nothing to write home about. Levy has good chops as a filmmaker though.

3 stars

Dan Skip Allen