Seen at...
My Dead Friend Zoe
- Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Writer: Cherish Chen, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, A.J. Bermudez
- Producer: Jeff Annison, Gregory Bartlett, David Baxter, Chris Boshuizen, Nikolaus Brahtz, Jamie Castro, Amado DeHoyos, Benjamin Dunn, Jordan Dykstra, Amad Elia, Simon Fawcett, Mike Field, Albert Fry Jr., Ken Goudsward, Travis Hansen, Ed Harris, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Travis Kelce, Terri Lubaroff, Ross Mackenzie, Ray Maiello, Liz Manashil, Sonequa Martin-Green, Chris Marvin, Joe Masterson, Martin Masterson, Nancy Masterson, Rhodes McKee, Rao Meka, Natalie Morales, Denny Nolan, Robert Paschall Jr., Brandi Plants, Steve Rodosky, Paul Scanlan, Richard Silverman, Maury Sterling, Jonathan Taylor, Christopher Tremann, Igor Tsukerman
CGiii Comment
A very protracted Public Service Announcement for veterans...suffering from PSTD. Nothing to laugh at...and, there's not much to laugh about in the film, considering it calls itself a [dark] comedy.
Based on a true story...with one major alteration. In real-life, this is a story about two men...this cinematic version flips that and has two women as the protagonists.
And...it doesn't take a superior brain to work out the [true] nature of their relationship - it almost seems that the writers are in denial about lesbians being in the army! How bizarre.
Apart from there being a ghost, a potential boyfriend and subplots aplenty...there's also a great big red herring - all serving to delay the inevitable 'mic drop' moment...and, when it comes...you realise that this story lost itself in its own camouflage.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
"Grief can be a funny thing."
MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (Natalie Morales), her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor (Morgan Freeman), the tough love of her mother (Gloria Reuben) and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit's cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world. That is until Merit's estranged grandfather (Ed Harris) -- holed up at the family's ancestral lake house -- begins to lose his way and needs the one thing he refuses... help. At its core, this is a buddy film about a complicated friendship, a divided family, and the complex ways in which we process grief.
Cast & Characters
Sonequa Martin-Green (as Merit)
Natalie Morales (as Zoe)
Ed Harris (as Dale)
Morgan Freeman (as Dr. Cole)
Gloria Reuben (as Kris)
Utkarsh Ambudkar (as Alex)
James Bane (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Assia Lau'ren (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Thom Tran (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Alicia Borja (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Zeke Alton (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Richard Milanesi (as Group Therapy Veteran)
Rich Paul (as SPC Lewis)
John-Peter Cruz (as SGT Gonzales)
Del Lewis (as Roy Purdy)
Drew Rausch (as Doctor)
Kelsi Umeko (as Lawyer)
Barbara Lusch (as Conductor)
Sandra Lee (as Soldier Singer)
Erick Jason Sabino (as Choir Member)
Shawn Harper (as Choir Member)
Thomas Harper (as Choir Member)
James Kreuzberger (as Choir Member)
Mary King (as Choir Member)
Michelle Valko (as Choir Member)