It doesn’t happen all that often, but a brand-new Netflix original movie has arrived with a stellar cast and a 100% Rotten Tomatoes review score from critics. It’s out tomorrow, and very much seems like it’s going to be worth a watch.
Technically a dramedy, the show is Don’t Say Good Luck. The series is about Sophia Birenbaum, played by Sunny Sandler, leading her high school musical, though she is “suddenly living with even more drama at home than on the stage.” Not ideal.
The cast here is just wildly talented. New Girl’s Max Greenfield, Brooklyn 99’s Stephanie Beatriz, the legends Steve Buscemi and Jon Lovitz. But a standout is said to be Yellowjackets’ Melanie Lynskey, taking a break from her cannibal past on that show for a much different offering here. I’m not familiar with creator Julia Hart’s previous work, but clearly she has hit a home run here.
Don’t Say Good Luck will attempt to compete with The Last House, the (quite bad) horror movie that has stayed at #1 on Netflix’s top 10 movie list since its release. It also has to contend with a couple Spider-Man movies, but as a fairly high-profile project, I believe it’s going to do well, particularly if word of mouth spreads about its quality. Here’s what some critics are saying about the film:
- The Hollywood Reporter – “The real gem of this ensemble (as she is in pretty much everything she touches) is Lynskey, who’s never less than completely and utterly present even as Liz increasingly struggles to be.”
- Deadline Hollywood – “Lynskey, an actress who can do no wrong, is exquisite playing a loving parent caught up in her own crisis but doing everything she can to help her daughter against all odds.”
Probably half these reviews cite Lynskey as a standout in some form or another, and I think most are ready for her to move on from Yellowjackets to take on other significant projects more often. Right now, however, she has no other projects on the docket.
There are rarely any 100% scored original movies on Netflix, so Don’t Say Good Luck certainly appears like it’s one not to miss. It’s a cast you cannot say no to, and through that alone (put Steve Buscemi on a thumbnail and I’m there), I think it’s going to do well on the service. We’ll find out when it arrives tomorrow, August 14.
Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
