- Starring
- Auli'i Cravalho, Carol Burnett, Justina Machado
- Writers
- Marc Basch, Brett Haley
- Director
- Brett Haley
- Rating
- PG (United States)
- Running Time
- 93 minutes
- Release Date
- August 28th, 2020 (Netflix)
Overall Score
Rating Summary
All Together Now is a surprising experience. On first glance of the poster, one may think it to be a mere high school comedy along the lines of Can’t Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate About You. The reality is that the film will surprise with its depth as it deals with complicated themes, turning it into a very satisfying experience.
All Together Now saw Amber (Cravalho) living a difficult life: counting pennies to get by every day, she and her mother Becky (Machado) can’t even afford the rent of a small place, and both of them sleep in an abandoned bus. Despite her many hardships, she never lets them drag her down. Regardless, Amber remains positive. She works hard, volunteers, remains a good friend, and helps out at school. Now Amber is about to start another chapter in her life as she had been invited to audition for a great arts program, one that could make all her dreams come true. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes, making it difficult for Amber to keep her positivity outlook.
Amber and Becky are barely surviving, and the difficulties they face are understandable and All Together Now makes this fairly clear as it was hard for them to maintain their dignity. All of this may come off as cliched but the script freshens these elements by giving them a positive spin thanks to the characters of Amber and Becky. They are fully aware of their issues, but they don’t let them take control of their lives. While they were always a part of them, the script also allowed them moments of joy, support, and companionship, depicting this mother-daughter relationship in a realistic way. Even those experiencing the most dire of situations are allowed to feel joy, to dream and to laugh which are things that are not always afforded to characters like these.
When life hits Amber the hardest, she becomes depressed, but here it is not in the way one is used to seeing depression on screen. By her decisions and her reactions that her depression is taking over without her even noticing it. With Amber, Cravalho creates a layered character in such a subtle and understated way which was a perfect fit for the tone of the film. The rest of the cast follows her lead, contributing to a realistic and easygoing atmosphere. Meanwhile, Machado is great as Becky, giving her the right weight and sadness, but also hopefulness and joy. While it’s a tricky balance, both actresses are amazing.
If there is anything that could be said against All Together Now, it is that its understated tones kind of underwhelms the film as a whole. Though it’s a very nice movie with strong themes, it never transcends into something more powerful or lasting. At the end of the day, it’s a good Netflix film, even a far better than the average one but it never rises above. It’s unfortunate, however, that does not make it any less good. Those who give it a chance are sure to be positively surprised.
still courtesy of Netflix
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