Tribeca 2022: Don’t Make Me Go Review

This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.

Life is precious and we have to make the most out of it while we still can because we never know how much time we have left. Several films across several genres have dealt with the meaning of life in one way or another, resonating with countless audiences over the years. Don’t Make Me Go is likely to follow suit. While it may not all work, this heartfelt father and daughter coming-of-age story is sure to resonate as it takes audiences through a gamut of emotions in between moments of humor to break up that emotion. Despite somewhat squandering its ending, the dynamic of John Cho and Mia Isaac in her first feature film role absolutely make the film with Cho once again delivering charm in another great father role and Isaac bringing plenty of youthful energy and charisma with a scene-stealing performance. In a film that’s essentially just them, they were a blast to watch, making for a believable father and daughter.

Don’t Make Me Go, as mentioned, centers around Max (Cho) and Wally Park (Isaac), a single father and teen daughter who embark on a cross-country road trip to find Wally’s mother who abandoned them when she was young. Discovering that he had a brain tumor and only had roughly a year to live, this created pressure for him to set her up for the rest of her life following his death by attempting to teach her everything she needed to know about life. However, as far as Wally knew, they set out to mend their broken relationship but the truth coming out at some point was inevitable. Until then, the two were living life to its fullest and partaking in plenty of experiences where both learned to come out of their shells, something the more restrained Max pushed down once he became a father. These experiences were compelling to watch if not provide a temporary distraction. That being said, it may be easy to forget what the original premise was at times. Ultimately, an unnecessary twist near the end kind of undercuts the story leading up to that point. It could have ended sooner and be fine.

As mentioned, the best part of Don’t Make Me Go was the performances of Cho and Isaac as Max and Wally Park and their great chemistry. A lot of audiences are likely to see themselves in Max and Wally and that’s because of not only them but also a relatable script. Though the story beats aren’t new by any means, they breathe some new life into them and still make them fun.

Don’t Make Me Go tears on the heartstrings just right.

still courtesy of Tribeca

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.