Not all movies have to be great. Sometimes they are just enough. I appreciate it when McCarthy tackles roles that give her more dramatic opportunity but also allow her brilliant comedic chops to shine through. This film which casts her and Chris O'Dowd as a couple recovering from the death of their infant child may not be the greatest and may have some flaws. But it is rather touching and finds the balance between the tragedy and the humour in life that works.
I didn't feel The Starling trivializes anything in a film with a subject matter that ends up being rather heavy. I also felt the film didn't wallow in its subject either. Perhaps it doesn't get deep enough into it. And perhaps it doesn't quite find the catharsis necessary to truly capture it. But also perhaps it finds a tone that is manageable to scratch the surface of what it is struggling with.
But it is really about seeing McCarthy and O'Dowd stretch a bit as actors. Both have already proven they can do more than make us laugh and here they do just that. The film may be light and may not be the sort of film that sits with you for a while, but it remained rather entertaining and just touching enough to work.
The Starling
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd, Kevin Kline, Skyler Gisondo, Timothy Olyphant, Daveed Diggs, Loretta Devine, Rosalind Cho
Director: Theodore Melfi
Writer: Matt Harris
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