[yasr_overall_rating]
After being hit by a car, a woman comes home to realize her friends don’t really want to take care of her. Desperate for help, she turns to an unlikely source.
New York City has always been the embodiment of the romantic comedy, just look at “Annie Hall”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Working Girl” and “When Harry Met Sally” for proof of that. Granted, the big apple has served other movie genres too but the romantic comedy will continue to dominate its skyline and you can now add this movie to that prestigious list. “Take Care” opens with Frannie (Leslie Bibb), who has just arrived home to her apartment wearing an arm and leg brace after having been hit by a car. Her sister Rachel (Tracee Chimo) and best friend Laila (Marin Ireland) are there to meet her and help her make it to her apartment but it becomes apparent, very early on, that taking care of her is going to be a full-time job and they quickly make their excuses and leave.
While vegging out in her apartment, she reads online that her ex, Devon (Thomas Sadoski), has just sold one of his latest tech gadgets to Yahoo for $6 million and she decides to reach out to him. Not for money but because when they were together, he was diagnosed with cancer and for two years, she cared and looked after him and after his recovery, he dumped her and moved on with his life. She calls him and he comes by where she lays the guilt on thick and after she has bestowed much shame on him, he agrees to take care of her. Naturally, this doesn’t go down too well with his current girlfriend Jodi (Betty Gilpin) but he informs her that because she looked after him for two long years, he feels it only right to take it upon himself, the good samaritan that he is, to be there for her now.
In the beginning, there are awkward moments galore but gradually, they begin to settle into a routine where after work he comes by her place, cooks her dinner and then they watch her favorite TV show, “Law & Order.” There are some very funny scenes throughout, including one where Frannie has to literally drag herself on the floor to her neighbor to ask him to turn down his loud music but thankfully the film never acquiesces into absurdity and all of the humorous scenes feel real. In fact, the entire movie feels so authentic that I honestly didn’t want it to end. The inevitable build-up to Frannie and Devon rekindling their love and feelings for each other is there, right from the very beginning but we have to wait until the very end to see if anything actually materializes.
Director Liz Tuccillo has put together one of the best ensemble casts I have seen in a movie in some time and when the film ends, you walk away feeling good inside and while many movies strive for that emotion, very few actually realize it. Leslie Bibb and Thomas Sadoski have such undeniable onscreen chemistry together that they could rival Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The supporting cast is top-notch and the film takes a very conventional idea and makes it better than it has any right to be, thanks to deft direction and a very appealing and charismatic cast. Highly recommended.
In theaters and on VOD now
