Most of us have experienced a broken heart whether that was over the loss of a friendship, a romantic relationship or a familial relationship. No matter how a heart is smashed to pieces, the scars are hard to mend.
In "The Broken Hearts Gallery," a woman knows what that feeling is like too well and too often, so young women are going to love her.
This addition to the rom-com scene in Hollywood isn't ground-breaking, but it stands on its own for an enjoyable and cute girls' night chick flick.
THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY – Final Trailer (HD)www.youtube.com
Lucy (Geraldine Viswanathan) is a 26-year-old New York City art gallery assistant who lives with her two best friends: no-nonsense Amanda (Molly Gordon) and heart-breaker Nadine (Phillipa Soo). But Lucy has a secret within her triangle of friends. She's an emotional hoarder who saves a souvenir from every relationship, and judging by the amount of doorknobs, rubber bands and tchotchkes she presumably has a lot of ex-boyfriends.
After she gets dumped by her latest boyfriend Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar) - and fired from her job - Lucy drunkenly mistakes a handsome hotel builder named Nick (Dacre Montgomery) for her rideshare driver. The pair find each other again by coincidence but spend more time with each other day by day. As she gets over her break-up, Lucy is inspired to create a pop-up space for items people have kept from past relationships just like her, and her endeavors quickly go viral.
Writer-Director Natalie Krinsky makes a solid feature film debut with "Broken Hearts." Her vision gives young adults plenty to eat up, which is a good and a bad thing. The script doesn't escape from rom-com stereotypes like cheesy confessions and larger-than-life friends, but the tropes are done well. And especially if a viewer is looking for this kind of thing, they will be extremely satisfied.
Without giving away spoilers, it would've been nicer to see more explanations instead of rushing to the flashy parts of the script as the plot develops around Nick's hotel. But all the characters are written well, especially their relationships to Lucy. But that is also a testament to Viswanathan's acting chops in a lead comedic role and her chemistry to all supporting actors.
It's a joy to watch her dance with Arturo Castro, who plays Nick's friend Marcos, or sing karaoke with Soo and Gordon. She makes these relationships feel so real that audiences will effortlessly relate to her.
And if this film is completely relatable to personal experiences, there is guaranteed little to no heartbreak over this feel-good, cathartic movie.
Score: 8/10
"The Broken Hearts Gallery" premieres in theaters on Friday, Sept. 11.
Contact reporter Samantha Incorvaia at sincorva@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @s_incorvaia.
