By: Andrew Wing

Together Together is a 2021 American comedy film written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. The film stars Ed Helms (The Office, The Hangover trilogy), Patti Harrison (Shrill, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson), Tig Notaro (Walk of Shame, Army of the Dead), Julio Torres (Ziwe, Search Party), and Anna Konkle (Rosewood, PEN15).

The plot follows a young loner Anna (Harrison), who is hired as the surrogate for Matt (Helms), a single man in his 40s. However, it doesn’t take long before the two strangers come to realize that this unexpected relationship will quickly challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries, and the particulars of love.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021, and was released on April 23, 2021, by Bleecker Street.

THE GOOD

News flash, I actually watched Together Together a couple of months ago with my Mom one day when we were surfing through Hulu trying to find something to watch. Similar to a recent movie I reviewed in Passing (see my full review here), I have been shocked at the lack of attention it has gotten and just how little this film has been getting talked about, so I figured I’d write a review to try and get the word out. Why I even watched this in the first place though is an easy answer, and the answer is Ed Helms. Just like every other college student nowadays, I did binge The Office back in high school, and there is no denying that Andy Bernard was one of my favorites. I am just so in love with Helm’s comedic style and everything I have ever seen him in makes me laugh, so I wasn’t going to miss this. But was my love for Helms enough to make this an overall enjoyable movie? Keep reading to find out!

First things first, I absolutely loved the direction and screenplay from Nikole Beckwith. Her direction was so simple yet so powerful. As for the screenplay, this story is beautiful. It follows a guy in his 40s who doesn’t have a woman in his life to have a baby with, so he decides to be a single father. Surrogacy is something that’s become more popular in the past few years, so I think it’s super appropriate to have a film focused on it, and I feel like the screenplay for this was so true to what it’s like for this relationship. It was just a perfectly crafted, lighthearted comedy that subverts social norms. I also loved how she portrayed the relationship the two main characters developed, and I will touch on why very soon. All in all, the script was always funny and overwhelmingly sweet.

Going off of that relationship, it was a very nice, touching, platonic friendship and it was incredibly engaging thanks to the two excellent lead performances we got here. First, with Ed Helms, he fit right in with the character and it made perfect sense for them to cast him considering who this character was. I feel like he really nailed it and for as much as I love his more comedic roles, I would love even more if he keeps taking these more dramatic roles to showcase his talents. Next with Patti Harrison, I was definitely impressed by her performance as she was very good as well. Her character was also funny and sweet, and I see this film being a breakout role for her. I am praying that due to this she gets more roles because she was truly amazing. As for the both of them, their chemistry was undeniable and I’m shocked that neither of them got any awards love because they deserved it.

Other things I wanted to bring up when it comes to what Together Together did right, and the first is just how it challenged the notion of whether or not love can exist between two people and be platonic. It was a charming film and I was so emotionally invested in this unique story. Also, I loved the editing here as the film was perfectly paced. I also liked the film’s visual style which was also simple. The cinematography was done by Frank Barrera so props to him, and before closing, I need to give a shoutout to Alex Somers who did the music here as it did the film wonders

THE BAD

This movie was so good and it was one of my personal favorites of 2021. However, there was something that hurt this movie tremendously, and that was the ending. I won’t spoil it, but it cut to black at a moment during one of the biggest scenes of the film. It was a very loaded shot and I was full of so many emotions, and then it cut to black, and I was heartbroken. I didn’t need an extra half of an hour or anything crazy, but an extra five to ten minutes would’ve been appreciated just so I could kind of feel resolved about what was happening, but I didn’t get that. With that said, after having some time to digest it, I understand why they chose to do that, and I’m still happy with the story it told. But man oh man, I really expected to get more closure and I felt like I got robbed of some sweet moments. And because of that, I just had to take some points off.

THE VERDICT

From writer-director Nikole Beckwith, Together Together is a sweet and funny film that gives audiences an honest look at surrogacy and platonic love. Yes, the ending didn’t do the film justice, but the lead performances from Ed Helms and Patti Harrison were unbelievable as they shared delightful chemistry that I was fully invested in. In conclusion, it was an incredibly enjoyable film and it’s easily one of my personal favorites from 2021.