I remember a few years ago, I watched a film in the Sundance Virtual portal called Cha Cha Real Smooth. It is a coming of age film written by, directed, and starring Cooper Raiff. It also starred Dakota Johnson in the best performance of her career. Well, he has returned, but not with another film but a dramedy sitcom. This 8-part series premiered at Sundance once again, similar to Raiff’s last project, also with quite a lot of praise. It’s unusual for a television/streaming show to play at Sundance, but with his past at the festival, it makes a lot of sense. It also provided a platform for one of the streamers to pick it up, and that’s what Mubi did. It should be premiering on the streaming service this week.

Hal (Cooper Raiff) and Harper (Lili Reinhart) are two siblings who are quite close to each other. They are recovering from the loss of their mother, and their father (Mark Ruffalo) has decided to sell their childhood home. The pair of siblings are navigating the world of college and life after college, trying to find a job in a demanding world. They also have relationships that are on again off again as neither know how to make commitments to significant others. Their close bond is what gets them through their constant struggles in life. This isn’t a normal dramedy, though.There is a twist to this series I haven’t seen before. That’s what makes it so much more interesting than other shows that deal with similar subject matter.

There is a non-linear storytelling method to this series. It flashes back and forth from when Hal & Harper were children going to elementary school and themselves as adults struggling to deal with their present-day problems. The odd thing about this is Raiff chose to use adult versions of himself and Reinhart as their younger selves instead of having children play their younger selves. I’ve never seen anything like this before in any television show. It’s one of the most amazing narrative decisions I’ve ever seen. These two fully grown actors go through elementary school and do things kids do at that age. All the quirky and moody phases children go through are on display here. While in the present day, the pair navigate relationships and financial struggles and deal with their father and his life decisions. 

While this narrative structure affects the Hal and Harper characters, it doesn’t affect the Ruffalo character. He goes through life normally in the past and in the present. The kids aren’t aware of what their mother is going through exactly in the past because of their kids, but in the present the Ruffalo’s character’s decisions are very evident to them. He chooses to sell their childhood home and progress his relationship with his new wife Kate (Betty Gilpin). They are having a child, which surprises both of his previous children. This is a lot for them to deal with. Along with the rest of their issues, they have to carry with them.

In the present, both Hal and Harper have on again off again relationships. Their significant others are Abby (Havana Rose Liu) and Jesse (Alyah Chanelle Scott). Both Hal and Harper bring their emotional baggage to these two relationships. The problems they had as children are brought into their lives as adults. In some cases, they can’t get over structure issues they had earlier in life. In other cases, they don’t know what is truly good for them or not. These two relationships test their resolve as young people trying to figure out what they want in the world. Hal and Harper’s close bond may, in fact, be a hindrance. They grew up so close to one another that bond is hard to break.

A few of the things I thought were funny with the show were the basketball scenes. As someone who picked up the game of basketball pretty easily as a kid, I was laughing at how bad these kids were at the game I loved as a kid. They were terrible at basketball no matter how much their dad tried to help them get better. And a sequence where the trio Hal, Harper, and dad all had numerous bonding days together. They went go-carting and to a laser tag place and played board games together. These are the family experiences you’d think kids and their father would have with each other. These were quite emotional scenes in the series. I got a tear in my eye watching these quenches play out.

The series deals with a lot of different things on both sides of the story. The show spans for many years, going from 2004-2019 to going back and forth from the past to the present. There are various things that the characters do that show the progression of time. How the father deals with the loss of his wife before he gets a new wife. Also, some of the things Hal and Harper do before they have their current relationship problems in the present. Like they do karaoke and go to parties together before separating and going their own way. The years leading up to the present time period foretell some of the things that will eventually happen to these two people. Their closeness causes them issues. They just can’t be apart, though, because each other is all they have going for them.

This show showed me how important a brother sister bond can be or, in my case, a brother brother bond. As a twin, me and my brother and I were very close to each other for many years. It was hard for me to leave my brother behind, but he found a partner and moved on with his life. I don’t begrudge him for that. Ever since I’ve been kind of lost. Sure, I have friends and acquaintances, but they aren’t as close to me as when I and my twin brother were growing up and as young adults. I absolutely love how this brother and sister were portrayed in this series. Despite the non-linear storytelling, this was some of the best portrayal of a brother and sister tandem I’ve seen in a while. 

Hal and Harper had me a wreck throughout its 8 episodes. Even though each episode went by very quickly, I learned about them and why they were so close to one another. Also, why they were also so close to their father. The non-linear way Raiff chose to tell the story gave the series a different vibe than other shows. Choosing to portray the child versions of the main characters with adults doing all the kids’ stuff was one of the most ingenious things I’ve ever seen in a dramedy show before. Raiff and Reinhart were both incredible in the show. Ruffalo added a gravitas to the series that it needed to be considered legitimate. This show had me in tears more than once because of how grounded in real emotions it was.These felt like real people going through real-life situations and having consequences to boot. This is one of the best shows I’ve seen all year, bar none.

Hal & Harper is Streaming on Mubi Oct 19th Reviewed 8/8 Episodes

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen