"RECOVERY" // SXSW 2021
You may think, at first glance, that setting a comedy against the global pandemic that is COVID-19, a pandemic that is still actively happening, may not be a great idea. There's been so much horror and pain in real life, so how do you find the comedy in that? To paraphrase a man smarter than I, "You must find the humor to work through the pain" and "laughter is the best medicine." And so writers/stars Whitney Call and Mallory Everton go after just that in RECOVERY, the first COVID comedy that is truly hilarious. This road trip comedy is a breathless affair that takes the world that we currently live in very seriously while also finding the absolutely absurdity in it as well.
Jamie (Whitney Call) and Blake (Mallory Everton) are two sisters, and best friends, who are very excited about the next year. They make plan after plan for trips and vacations. They're going to live life to the fullest and spare no expense. Jamie is turning 30 and Blake is excited for a promising first date. Then, the COVID lockdown happened and everything changed. They find out that their Nana, who lives in an assisted living facility, is in the middle of an outbreak. So the two sisters, armed with masks, sanitizer, wine and water, take off on a road trip to rescue their Nana and get her out of that facility. A good portion of the film takes place in the front seat of their car but due to the effortless chemistry between the writer/stars and the very funny dialogue, you hardly notice that there aren't many other locations. A slew of ongoing jokes are sprinkled throughout the film: a text message to Blake's first date and how to read a gif only reply, leaving Jamie's two mice with the family of one of her fourth grade students and conversations with their sister Erin (Julia Jolley), who they find out is on a cruise and not taking the pandemic seriously at all.
The biggest question of RECOVERY, and your enjoyment of it, is if you can find comedy within the scope of the COVID pandemic. The good news to many watching this new comedy is that the creators are taking the pandemic seriously and are pro-mask and pro-taking precautions. They also are trying to find some humor among the vast sadness that has existed over the past year, and to that end they achieve it. Call and Everton have a magnetic chemistry that shines in every single moment of the film, a film that is more often than not laugh-out-loud hilarious. A few moments don't land, but it's guaranteed that another comic moment is on the way to make up for it. As we round the corner of year one since the beginning of world wide shutdown, it's a pleasant experience to be able to laugh again, even if just for a moment.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN BY Whitney Call, Mallory Everton DIRECTED BY Mallory Everton, Stephen Meek STARRING Whitney Call, Mallory Everton, Julia Jolley, Anne Sward Hansen SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2021 SXSW FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: RECOVERY