the incredible jessica james movie review

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‘The Incredible Jessica James’ Is a Bold Woman in Progress

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By Nicole Herrington

• July 28, 2017

One of the best scenes in “The Incredible Jessica James” comes two-thirds of the way through the movie. Jessica, arguing with a guy she’s sort of been seeing, delivers a kiss-off: “I’m freakin’ dope.” That bold declaration not only represents a strong young woman but is also a gift for fans of the actress who plays her, Jessica Williams, the former “Daily Show” correspondent and current co-host of the “2 Dope Queens” podcast.

And yet the struggle is real for her character. Jessica James is a Brooklyn playwright going through a “weird transitional phase,” not really coping well with a recent breakup (her ex-boyfriend keeps coming to an untimely end in her dreams) and trying to remain optimistic as rejection letters from theater companies pile up. Those notices share a wall in her Bushwick apartment with Playbill covers, posters for old school productions and inspirational quotes from Lillian Hellman.

Her love of theater is deep, as witnessed in scenes with young students in a playwriting class she teaches. She bonds with one, Shandra (a delightful Taliyah Whitaker), who shows promise but is also processing the recent divorce of her parents. The snappy dialogue makes Jessica’s silly moments with the kids as well as heart-to-hearts with her friend Tasha (Noël Wells, just as charming as she was in “Master of None”) feel most lived-in and natural, even when she is asked to recommend a show for a friend of her mother’s back home in Ohio who’s “heard good things about ‘Jersey Boys.’” Jessica prefers “dialogue-driven dramas that explore the human condition.”

The director Jim Strouse wrote this movie, which began streaming Friday on Netflix, for Ms. Williams after she appeared in his 2015 film, “People Places Things.” The camera lovingly follows her on her adventures in the city, and it’s easy to see why he was inspired to give her this breakout role.

Her character’s forthrightness draws in friends and intrigues potential suitors, including the recently divorced Boone (played by a scruffy and slightly goofy Chris O’Dowd). They are complete opposites but find themselves in bed after an awkward first date. Their courtship involves an elaborate plan to break free of the obsessive cycle of stalking their exes on social media. The solution: Each will follow the other’s ex.

But this is Ms. Williams’s movie, and she owns it. (Though, with its strong ensemble — Lakeith Stanfield plays her ex — I kept thinking it could make for a smart series.) She’s a radiant, tall glass of dopeness and isn’t afraid to tell you so. And in New York City, isn’t that how the strong survive?

The Incredible Jessica James Streaming on Netflix. Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes.

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The Incredible Jessica James Reviews

Williams was actually a former correspondent on US programme The Daily Show, but has successfully made the tricky jump to acting look easy. Watch for the chance to see a young actor clearly destined for stardom.

Full Review | May 18, 2021

Williams' voracious and unapologetically non-demure performance brings the subtext to the surface. She takes over, defining herself as a star in her first lead role.

Full Review | Dec 12, 2020

A really charming way to spend 83 mins!

Full Review | Oct 8, 2020

Jessica James is kind of obnoxious, mean to her dates, and she's definitely her own biggest fan. But she's 25 and she's trying really hard.

Full Review | Sep 11, 2019

Astute, hilarious, and with an open-endedness that rings true to life, Strouse has gifted us wisdom and one hell of a leading lady in Williams.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 1, 2019

The Incredible Jessica James actually wields colorblindness in a positive way.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Nov 16, 2018

Director Jim Strouse...allows Jessica Williams' energy to shine and dominate the film - which she does with ease.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 24, 2018

The Incredible Jessica James is quite - dare I say it, incredible - for a number of reasons, an obvious one being that a strong and independent woman of color takes the helm, quirks and all, and we love her for it.

Full Review | Aug 6, 2018

This movie is surprisingly sweet, bright, and optimistic in all the right places.

Full Review | Apr 20, 2018

Cute, slight -- the very definition of "Netflixable."

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 20, 2018

The fresh, genuinely funny rom-com will make you feel a lot of things, and you'll undoubtedly emerge wishing that Williams was your best friend.

Full Review | Dec 19, 2017

Writer/director James Strouse has given us a modern comedy that is both innovative and genuine, going as far as dwelving into several comedy subgenres...

Full Review | Nov 26, 2017

There's a power in seeing a self-aware black woman on screen who simply proceeds through life like she hasn't been defeated by it, like she still feels she can make a difference, like she still believes that the world is hers.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2017

The Incredible Jessica James has more to it than what first meets the eyes, and it's so worth delving into if you've got the patience to relish in it for exactly what it is.

Full Review | Aug 29, 2017

But all along, [Jessica Williams'] presence onscreen showed something like star power. And in The Incredible Jessica James, she fulfills that promise.

Full Review | Aug 28, 2017

Unfortunately, The Incredible Jessica James isn't quite as incredible as Jessica James.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/10 | Aug 25, 2017

[Jessica] Williams is a very strong presence with energy and personality to spare--she will go far.

Full Review | Aug 16, 2017

This drama-comedy goes general when others go specific.

Full Review | Aug 11, 2017

What makes The Incredible Jessica James stand out-other than terrific performances from Williams and co-stars- is in the effort it puts towards being a romantic comedy that emphasizes the "comedy" part.

Full Review | Aug 9, 2017

Jessica Williams deserves your undivided attention. She is freakin' dope, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Full Review | Aug 7, 2017

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‘the incredible jessica james’: film review | sundance 2017.

Jim Strouse's 'The Incredible Jessica James' is built around the charms of leading lady Jessica Williams (of 'The Daily Show') as a young playwright navigating a new romance.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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A peppy little joke machine, The Incredible Jessica James exists for the one and only reason of providing a showcase for the evident talents of its leading lady, Jessica Williams. Any random five minutes of screen time from this modest, and modestly engaging, romantic comedy provide ample evidence that this four-year Daily Show favorite has the quick wit, fast mouth, bursting energy and sufficient charisma to make the grade on the big screen, or anywhere else she puts her mind to it. On television, this sort of sharp-witted, sexually upfront, trials-of-life-in-the-big-city piece ( Master of None, Fleabag, et al.) would quickly connect with smart young viewers, but while Williams’ fans will be righteously satisfied and new ones made by this good date-night item, the target audience is still more likely to wait for it to appear on small screens than to be lured into theaters.

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Writer-director Jim Strouse has been a Sundance fixture for a decade now, beginning with Grace Is Gone and continuing with The Winning Season and People Places Things, the latter of which featured Williams in a supporting role. Strouse wrote the new film for the actress, and she blasts through it like a force of nature that will not be denied despite the fact that her character, a playwright named Jessica, spends most of her time being rejected, both professionally and personally, the latter due to a breakup with her great love Damon ( LaKeith Stanfield ).

The Bottom Line An amiable vehicle for a rising star.

With a pile of hair, nose ring, assertive physicality and a verbal channel that has no off button, Jessica, from the size of her notebook, would seem to have already written more plays than Ibsen. But as no one has yet confirmed her own high opinion of her craft, she’s stuck teaching at a non-profit children’s theater program in New York City and coping with the usual challenges of life in the big city.

Atop those issues, of course, is sex, a subject Jessica is adept at talking about as well as practicing. When she meets the quasi-dorky sad sack Boone (Chris O’Dowd ), it wouldn’t appear that this pasty Irishman and black firecracker are fated for a momentous encounter between the sheets.

But this seemingly ill-matched pair end up striking some sparks (more like lightning bolts, it seems) after all, and some of the best writing and performing here involve the way both of these characters are perpetually on the edge of uncertainty about what they think of and want from each other; they could go either way, take it or leave it, and how they both handle it says a lot for taking the dive rather than sitting it out.

Although the film skips along at a brisk pace, there’s scant narrative; Jessica suffers through a visit to her ultra-straight parents’ home in Ohio, prepares her young charges for an out-of-town writers’ workshop weekend while struggling to get her star pupil’s stern mother to allow it and endures periodic forlorn attempts by Damon to regain her attention, all the while hoping for her big break. Boone has his own problems but sticks around, with O’Dowd , despite limited screen time, making him into an immensely likeable character adroit at sneaky mood shifts.

But The Incredible Jessica James cannot be mistaken for anything other than Williams’ calling-card movie, and she lays her abilities out there for all to see: high energy, eruptive humor, vaunting ambition, considerable ego, a nimble mood gearshift box and an endless belief in her own talent. She’s got a lot to offer, the door’s been opened, and now we’ll see what she does with it.

Production company: Beachside Productions Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd , Lakeith Stanfield , Noel Wells, Zabryna Guerara , Taliyah Whitaker, Sarah Jones, Will Stephen, Susan Heyward , Megan Ketch Director-screenwriter: Jim Strouse Producers: Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub Executive producers: Jessica Williams, Kerri Hundley Director of photography: Sean McElwee Production designer: Nora Mendis Costume designer: Amanda Ford Music: Keegan DeWitt Casting: Jessica Kelly, Kate Geller Venue: Sundance Film Festival (Premieres)

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The incredible jessica james, common sense media reviewers.

Crisp, star-driven romcom has sexual content, cursing.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Promotes thinking big, pride in oneself, being ope

Heroine is audacious, confident, imaginative, a te

Two imaginary (comic) accidental deaths: a fall, a

Couples in bed together: foreplay, making love (no

Swearing and profanity: "f--k," "s-

Wine, champagne in social situations.

Parents need to know that The Incredible Jessica James is a grown-up romantic comedy with lots of sexual situations, racy language, and mature themes. The movie is a star-making turn for Jessica Williams, one of the premier "correspondents" on The Daily Show when Jon Stewart was at the helm…

Positive Messages

Promotes thinking big, pride in oneself, being open to new experiences, and moving forward after heartbreak. Jessica's mantra: "Hey, everybody, guess what? This is your one and only life. What do you want to tell people about it?"

Positive Role Models

Heroine is audacious, confident, imaginative, a terrific teacher and role model for the kids she teaches. She shows remarkable determination, refusing to give up when faced with obstacles in her path. Her vulnerability is sometimes disguised by an in-your-face attitude. Also, a bit of a snob, condescending to her family. Portrays a stereotypical Midwestern family. Ethnically diverse.

Violence & Scariness

Two imaginary (comic) accidental deaths: a fall, a man is crushed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Couples in bed together: foreplay, making love (no nudity, no intense sexual activity), cuddling after sex. Lots of conversations about sex. References to masturbation, oral sex, vibrators, anal sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Swearing and profanity: "f--k," "s--t," "balls," "a--hole." Sexual conversations: "want to bone?" "smell your panties," "booty call."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Incredible Jessica James is a grown-up romantic comedy with lots of sexual situations, racy language, and mature themes. The movie is a star-making turn for Jessica Williams, one of the premier "correspondents" on The Daily Show when Jon Stewart was at the helm. With a recognizable story given a fresh lift from Williams, viewers can expect to hear lots of sexual references and jokes. There's no actual nudity, only suggested, and no dramatically intense sexual encounters. Words like "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole" and phrases like "want to bone?" and "booty call" are sprinkled in, along with references to oral sex, masturbation, menstruation, and sex toys. Characters drink adult beverages in some social scenes, no drunkenness. A funny debut leading role for this strong female actor-comedian should appeal to adults and mature teens. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

Breakups are always hard, and the heroine in THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES is struggling. A determined and hard-working playwright who gets rejection notices from theater companies as well as from her ex, Jessica (Jessica Williams) covers her fragility with a quick wit, in-your-face honesty, and an (almost) invincible spirit. Her best post-split moments come from teaching. Jessica's good at it, and the city kids in her theater class are lucky to have her. Being fixed up with Boone ( Chris O'Dowd ), a newly divorced computer guy who's got his own issues with being single, is a mixed blessing. He's sexy, funny, and just about as frank as she is, but they're both still recovering. Any steps forward in their relationship seem to come with two steps back. Jessica's fantasizing about her old boyfriend doesn't help matters. So it requires some tricky maneuvering, along with a little luck, for Jessica to get to a place where she just might be open to the next good thing.

Is It Any Good?

The spirited, wholly original Jessica Williams turns a familiar setup and story into a special event with her agility, intelligence, and ability to play a vanity-free role with gusto. Luckily, Chris O'Dowd has just what it takes to charm her, and the audience, and their chemistry is terrific. Williams struts and storms, laughs and dances The Incredible Jessica James right into your heart. And, the beauty of Williams dancing is that she's not great at it, but, wow, is she willing. It's not a perfect film. One could find fault with the lapses into comic stereotype, particularly in the scenes with the leading lady headed back to her hometown, but why bother? It doesn't really distract from the whole. With wonderful performances, great comic timing, and even a generous helping of heartstring tugs, the movie should appeal to a wide audience. Mature, with lots of sexual situations and references.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the movie term "star turn." What does it mean? The Incredible Jessica James was written for Jessica Williams. What about the actress makes her special? Do you think the movie will affect her career? How?

Jessica James is a unique school teacher. What are some of the qualities and behaviors that make her so effective? How can those qualities and behaviors transfer to personal social interaction as well?

Talk about the contrasts that may exist between sexual scenes in comedies and in dramas. Is there a difference in the mood the director intends to create? How does that mood affect the response the director is hoping for?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : July 28, 2017
• Cast : Jessica Williams , Chris O'Dowd , Noel Wells , LaKeith Stanfield
• Director : James C. Strouse
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors, Latino actors, Middle Eastern/North African actors
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Arts and Dance , Great Girl Role Models
• Character Strengths : Perseverance
• Run time : 85 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

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Sundance Film Review: ‘The Incredible Jessica James’

Jessica Williams shines in writer-director Jim Strouse's love letter to his leading lady.

By Geoff Berkshire

Geoff Berkshire

Associate Editor, Features

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Some people are born to be movie stars, and “The Incredible Jessica James” successfully makes that case for leading lady Jessica Williams . Best known as a former correspondent for “The Daily Show,” the assertive actress commands every frame of a vehicle that feels built to transport her to even bigger and better things to come. It’s the sort of ingratiating crowdpleaser that would’ve sparked a modest bidding war at past Sundance festivals. But even in a less frenzied atmosphere, the film (which serves as this year’s closing night selection, yet screened for press on day one) should be able to land a distributor savvy enough to maximize its commercial appeal.

It almost feels like a throwback to see a breakout star headline a modest relationship comedy for the indie film crowd at a time when many of Williams’ peers are making their mark on the more expansive canvas of television. Any contemporary film about a young woman navigating life in a big city is going to draw comparisons to Lena Dunham’s “Girls” and Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” and there are even nods, intentional or not, to Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” and Aziz Ansari’s “Master of None” in the casting of co-stars Lakeith Stanfield and Noël Wells.

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But instead of screwing with or straight-up demolishing conventions in the style of any of those series, writer-director Jim Strouse (“Grace Is Gone,” “The Winning Season”) places Williams at the center of a thoroughly conventional indie narrative — trusting his star’s sensibility to freshen up otherwise stale scenarios.

Popular on Variety

Fortunately, Williams delivers on every count. Smart, funny, and beautiful, she’s a force of nature who carries herself with more than just confidence; she’s got a fully justified swagger. As she tells smitten suitor Boone (Chris O’Dowd) at one point: “Of course you [like me]. Everybody does. I’m freaking dope.” That Williams sells that line without even a threat of losing the audience’s trust is a measure of how far she can go as an actress.

Of course there’s more to “Jessica James” than just Jessica Williams being freaking dope. But not that much. Williams’ eponymous heroine is a frustrated 25-year-old playwright, who lives in “deep Bushwick” and indulges her love of theater by helping public school kids write and stage scenes for a nonprofit. She’s also struggling to get over a bad breakup with her boyfriend of two years (Stanfield), when her best friend (Wells) sets up a blind date with app designer Boone.

He still carries a torch for his ex-wife (Megan Ketch), but the mutual heartbreak and penchant for real talk he shares with Jessica leads to a string of sexual encounters and a budding romance. At the same time, she makes steady progress in her professional life, be it an encouraging rejection letter or a fateful meeting with her Tony-winning idol Sarah Jones (playing herself).

“Jessica James” dips its toe into a lot of different waters — breakup movie, rom-com, buddy picture, career-girl comedy — but never takes a full plunge. Instead the thrill is all in watching Williams own the screen, and find moments to hang loose with equally likable costars O’Dowd, Stanfield, and Wells.

It’s too bad the movie is too lightweight to give us a real sense of James’ voice as a playwright — there’s ample time spent with the kids she mentors, which only ratchets up the cutesy quotient, and not enough on the character as a writer — but at least Williams’ own voice comes through loud and clear. If nothing else, Strouse, who had worked with Williams in a smaller role in “People Places Things,” knows how to capture his star’s unique rhythms and infectious appeal.

Visually the film falls in line with Strouse’s previous low-key character pieces, although an energetic opening dance number featuring Williams freestyling solo in her apartment sets a higher aesthetic bar the rest of movie can’t touch.

Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (premieres, closer), Jan. 19, 2017. Running time: 83 MIN.

• Production: A Beachside production. Producers: Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub. Executive producers: Jessica Williams, Kerri Hundley.
• Crew: Director, writer: Jim Strouse. Camera (color): Sean McElwee. Editors: Jesse Gordon, Mollie Goldstein.
• With: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Noël Wells, Lakeith Stanfield, Taliyah Whitaker, Zabryna Guevara, Sarah Jones, Megan Ketch.

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The Joy of The Incredible Jessica James

James C. Strouse’s movie is a predictable romantic comedy elevated by an incandescent star.

The Incredible Jessica James , which debuted Friday on Netflix, has a title that feels better suited to a Marvel drama than a romantic comedy. And Jessica (Jessica Williams) would make an extremely compelling superhero, endowed as she is with mighty powers of snark, bravado, and withering disdain. Within the movie’s spry 85 minutes, she vanquishes a manspreader on the subway with barely the tilt of an eyebrow, crushes an ex with a piano (in a dream sequence, but even so), and reduces a Tinder date to a puddle of shame and self-loathing. (“I would literally rather have my period nonstop for a thousand years than have this portion of the conversation,” is one of her gentler comebacks.)

In the hands of a less charismatic actress, Jessica could easily be intolerable. But Williams, the 27-year-old former Daily Show correspondent and co-host of the podcast 2 Dope Queens , is so charming that she elevates a perfectly predictable rom-com into a blast. Written and directed by James C. Strouse, who devised the project explicitly for Williams after working with her on 2015’s People Places Things , the movie is gentle and surprisingly sweet, relying on its star’s undeniable magnetism and rhetorical ingenuity. Between the bold, cartoon-typeface title cards, the one-woman dance parties, and the elaborately staged daydreams, there are times when it feels like a raunchy Lizzie McGuire update, only with a much more compelling character at the helm.

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At the beginning of the movie, Jessica, a frustrated playwright, is living in “deepest Bushwick,” recovering from a breakup with Damon (Lakeith Stanfield), and attempting to get her work staged by any theater in New York that will consider it (every rejection letter gets taped neatly on her wall). After a less than enticing date with a Tinder prospect who mimics her vernacular (“totes preesh”), her best friend, Tasha (Noël Wells) sets her up with Boone (Chris O’Dowd), a shuffling sadsack of a divorcé who initially seems like sexual Kryptonite. Jessica goes home with him anyway. And what starts as a mutual breakup affirmation society (they unfollow their exes together but follow each other’s so they can keep abreast of updates) turns into a strangely satisfying relationship.

The movie’s energy goes up and down, and there are times when it feels like scenes could have used an extra take or two. But Williams is a gifted enough actress to poke holes in Jessica’s swagger so her insecurities peek through. She refers to herself as a “unicorn,” insists to a roomful of women at a baby shower that they have to subvert the patriarchal paradigm, and tells Boone that she’s “frigging dope.” But she’s also creatively frustrated, teaching theater writing to a group of admittedly adorable kids in Hell’s Kitchen and squealing over a rejection simply because the correspondent bothered to read one of her plays. “This is theater, Shandra,” she tells one of her students in a faux-plummy baritone. “We don’t have to do any of this. We do it simply because we must .”

This isn’t to say Williams can carry the movie entirely by herself. Her chemistry with Boone is intermittent at best, and his lackadaisical appeal owes more to O’Dowd’s reliable congeniality than to Boone’s depth as a character. The movie’s twists and turns often feel extracted from Screenwriting for Dummies. Jessica’s angst isn’t entirely persuasive, although the movie makes a little effort to explore her childhood and how she feels like an oddball among her more conventional family members. But The Incredible Jessica James ’s frequent, zingy quips and its understated, realistic portrayal of 21st-century romance make it an engaging way to spend an hour and a half. If nothing else, it’s a real pleasure just to spend so much time in Williams’s company, and watch her star rightfully ascend.

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Jessica Williams is pure joy in The Incredible Jessica James : EW review

Devan Coggan (rhymes with seven slogan) is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. Most of her personality is just John Mulaney quotes and Lord of the Rings references.

It’s no secret that Jessica Williams is talented, as evidenced by her work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show and as the cohost of the podcast 2 Dope Queens. But with The Incredible Jessica James, Netflix’s sweet, quick-witted rom-com about an unlucky-in-love Brooklyn playwright, Williams definitively proves that she’s a star.

Writer-director Jim Strouse wrote the film for Williams, and even though this is her leading lady debut, it’s almost impossible to imagine any other actress or comedian bringing as much wit and charm to the title role. An aspiring playwright who spends her days teaching children’s theater workshops, Jessica James is fiercely funny, messy, smart, and confident—dancing her way through New York like a hurricane in a kickass jumpsuit. She’s still reeling from a recent breakup with her boyfriend (Lakeith Stanfield of Get Out and Atlanta ) while trying to figure out how to advance her writing career—or whether she even wants to continue trying. Before long, her friend Tasha ( Master of None’s Noël Wells) sets her up with the recently divorced Boone (Chris O’Dowd), and together, they embark on a cautious but sweet romance.

Film and television are overrun with stories about young creative people trying to find themselves in New York and learn how to navigate life/love/etc., but Williams imbues her character with a liveliness and a confidence that sets her apart. (When Boone tells her that he thinks he likes her, Jessica replies, “Of course you do. Everybody does. I’m friggin’ dope.”) But although Williams shines bright, the rom-com plot is a little more standard. O’Dowd is a mopey charmer as Boone, and although the romance is sweet, it’s predictably conventional.

But as a star vehicle for Williams, Jessica James is a home run. Even when the film falls into indie clichés, Williams keeps things moving with her cleverness and charisma, whether she’s chastising manspreaders on the subway or introducing an as-yet-unborn baby to the fight to dismantle the patriarchy. In short, it’s a performance that’s smart, funny, and above all, incredible. B+

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[ This is a re-post of my review from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival; The Incredible Jessica James hits Netflix tomorrow ]

Like many who saw Jessica Williams on The Daily Show , she was a standout correspondent on a show that’s had its fair share of gifted comedians. She was charismatic, cutting, and incredibly funny, so it’s not too much of a surprise that she brings those qualities to Jim Strouse ’s The Incredible Jessica James , a film that feels like it’s tailor-made for Williams’ distinctive personality. What is remarkable is how she effortlessly carries the feature and proves herself an A-list talent who deserves to be leading a variety of films.

Jessica James (Williams) is a struggling playwright in New York City who pays her bills by teaching theater writing to children as part of a non-profit afterschool program. She’s also working through the aftermath of her breakup with Damon ( Lakeith Stanfield ), which eventually gets her put on a blind date with Boone ( Chris O’Dowd ), who recently became divorced. As Jessica and Boone sift through the wreckage of past relationships and the requisite baggage it brings, they warily start to forge a new romance.

The film really lives or dies with Williams. Taken purely on a script level (which Strouse also wrote), The Incredible Jessica James could have veered into the twee or the contrived. The arcs are a little too formulaic and the dialogue could have sounded forced if the actress didn’t display expert comic timing. I won’t go so far as to say Jessica James would have been a bad film without Williams, but she’s so amazing in the lead role that it’s hard to imagine this movie without her.

In her performance as James, Williams displays all of the winning charm fans came to saw from her segments on The Daily Show , but she acquits herself well at playing a character rather than a comedian. What I mean by that is that it never feels like Williams is reaching for a laugh or that her character merely exists as a joke-delivery system. She feels like a real person but imbued by Williams’ distinctive talents. She’s not just funny as James, but she has no problem with the pathos involved. All of the character’s pain and insecurity feel real, and while other actors might try to play James’ guarded nature as taciturn or aloof, Williams’ wisely uses her magnetic personality as a shield. We see James using her wit as a sword to fend off any potential pain.

Credit also has to go to the supporting cast especially O’Dowd, Stanfield, and Noël Wells as James’ best friend. Even though this is Williams’ show, there’s not a weak link in the cast, and everyone plays off each other well. Everyone is confident enough to let Williams shine and the relationships always feel authentic as a result.

Hopefully, The Incredible Jessica James will become Williams’ new calling card in the same way that The Office showed that Steve Carell and Ed Helms could take on roles beyond “comic reporter”. With Jessica James , Williams has stepped out of the shadow of The Daily Show and I can only pray that what lies before her are a slew of roles that take advantage of her wit, charm, and talent.

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The Incredible Jessica James

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Jessica Williams (Jessica James) Chris O'Dowd (Boone) LaKeith Stanfield (Damon) Noël Wells (Tasha) Taliyah Whitaker (Shandra) Will Stephen (Tinder Guy) Zabryna Guevara (Mrs. Phillips) Eric Loscheider (Mandy's New Man) Patricia R. Floyd (Mom) Evander Duck Jr. (Kenny)

Jim Strouse

An aspiring playwright in New York strikes up a friendship with a guy while on the rebound from a break-up.

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‘Incredible Jessica James’ Review: Jessica Williams Reveals New Levels of Charm

A movie star is born: one-time “Daily Show” correspondent is a revelation in this intelligent comedy

Jessica Williams, as the eponymous heroine of “The Incredible Jessica James,” refers to herself as a unicorn. Her playful remark is in the context of an amorous evening she’s just had with a new friend, played by Chris O’Dowd. But it could also be an apt way to describe this delightfully warm-hearted film.

A comedy centered around a multi-dimensional African-American woman who is smart, funny, vulnerable, sensual, wise, proud, charming, flawed, resilient, well-educated, an inspiring teacher and a loving friend feels almost like the cinematic equivalent of a unicorn. And the fact that this complex character was written and directed by a white man dials up the rarity quotient.

Writer-director Jim Strouse had cast Williams — known best for her clever comic reports on “The Daily Show” — in his previous film, 2015’s “People, Places, Things.” Strouse has said he was so impressed with Williams’s talents that he wondered why no one had written a movie expressly for her. So he did it himself. The result is this engaging character study, the closing night film at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

It’s a pleasure to see Williams in a lead role and playing a character not confined to movie tropes like “sassy best friend.” Instead, she inhabits a strong, complicated, achingly honest woman who reveals some insecurity, but whose confidence is her over-arching trait.

It’s a star-making turn. Her incisive comic timing, withering looks and mega-watt smile are familiar to late-night TV viewers, but it’s her impressive acting range that stands out here, marked by vulnerability, complexity and an easy chemistry with co-stars — both the actors playing her young students and the ever-affable O’Dowd. In short, Williams is a revelation.

While there is certainly romance and comedy here, “Jessica James” gently subverts the romantic comedy genre by being more about finding oneself and one’s voice than attaining lasting love. Jessica pursues her professional passion with even more zeal than she does romance. She has a wonderfully natural friendship with a fellow striver, an actress endearingly played by Noël Wells (“Master of None”).

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Jessica stumbles upon romance in a way that feels organic, credible and lovely; whether the couple will end up together is anybody’s guess. In other words, this is the kind of rom-com we should be seeing in 2017: one that feels authentic and more accurately reflects the lives of real women and men. Relationships can be messy. Our careers can take off or not, at any given moment. Familial bonds are complex and emotional. All of this comes through in just the right pitch in Strouse’s consistently entertaining film.

Living in a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, Jessica is a playwright whose big break hasn’t happened. She is, however, so prolific that her notebook of penned plays looks as if it weighs 10 pounds. She cherishes a personally-written rejection letter that calls her writing “eloquent” on a wall with more pro forma correspondence received since moving to New York from Ohio.

Jessica has been smitten with the theater since childhood. Perhaps for that reason she is a theater instructor for children, determined to nurture in them the dedication she feels to her art. She is particularly intent upon drawing out the writing talents of her shyly brooding student Shandra (Taliya Whitaker). Among the young actors, Whitaker makes a strong impression.

While Jessica happily pursues her artistic vision, her sister is taking a more traditional path. Jessica clearly loves her, but doesn’t fit in with her strait-laced set of friends. Case in point: She shows up at her sister’s baby shower with a hand-written children’s book entitled “The ABC’s of the Patriarchal Paradigm.”

She’s also just come out of a two-year relationship and is still smarting from her breakup with Damon (a terrific Lakeith Stanfield, also at Sundance with “Crown Heights”). In the film’s earliest scenes she’s a master of TMI, whether on a Tinder date or at a posh event where she’s serving champagne to wealthy arts patrons. In an effort to emotionally cut ties with her ex, she makes a pact on a blind date with Boone (O’Dowd) to unfollow her former boyfriend on Instagram, as he does the same with his ex-wife.

But Jessica is no heartsick, distressed damsel. Wryly funny, candid and determined, she uses her pain to fuel her work. In a jubilant opening scene that also sends up rom-com conventions, she dances off her woes, starting in her apartment, up a few flights of drab stairs and onto the roof. Imaginative scenes featuring her former boyfriend are particularly hilarious. While several comic scenarios center on Jessica and Boone’s awkward encounters with their exes, it’s also noteworthy that no one is painted as villains. They’re all just people for whom things didn’t quite work out. Life goes on.

Across the board, the ensemble cast is markedly likeable. O’Dowd and Williams are one of the more adorably appealing on-screen couples in recent memory, deadpan and droll in different ways that complement each other winningly.

While the story has a disarming and subtly woven message of female empowerment that audiences (especially women) will warm to, the film is above all a showcase for Williams’s many talents, and a testament to her ability as a vibrant leading lady. “The Incredible Jessica James” is an enchanting, deftly-written and witty movie for lovers and haters of romantic comedies, as well as for all those in between.

Jessica Williams Shines Brightly In Netflix’s ‘The Incredible Jessica James’

Jessica Williams fills up a space like the glow of a megawatt bulb. The former Daily Show correspondent has been gifted the lead in Netflix’s demi-eponymous The Incredible Jessica James , a romantic comedy that writer-director Jim Strouse has assembled in her honor like a temple to Helios. It’s Williams’ first real movie role (cameos like Jamaican Damsel, Coffee Shop Crier, and African-American Spa Worker don’t count) and she transitions from TV to film at light-speed, glorying in the extra room. The 6-foot-tall comedian, a tornado of tie-dyed denim and gorgeous, charm-decorated dreads, grooves across the screen with her arms flung open as if she’s ready to fly.

Look out if you’re another actor in the scene. Her newly single New York playwright Jessica James wants to do all the talking, preferably about herself, with breaks only to applaud her brave honesty. “I’m standing in my own truth,” she insists to best friend Tasha (Noël Wells) when Jessica’s narcissism risks getting them both fired from a catering gig. More like she’s spraying her truth on bystanders, most of whom are too awed to duck, from her still-raw ex Damon (the great Lakeith Stanfield, this generation’s James Dean) to the neighbor whose laundry she throws in the stairwell just because the flying fabric fit her dance-party-of-one.

Jessica’s boorishness shows how hard Strouse tried to write his star a complicated part. But Williams is so charismatic, her character’s rudeness barely registers. Instead, the actress has to show Jessica recognizing her faults before we do. Two beats after she tosses the stranger’s clothes, Williams grimaces. Whoops. And right after she insults Damon, Williams glances down. The mean quips make her electric. The regret makes her human. Williams’ skill at both makes her a serious talent.

How do you make a rom com when there’s not enough oxygen for two people? By pairing matter with anti-matter and setting Jessica up with her opposite: a soft-spoken, middle-aged Irish divorcee named Boone (Chris O’Dowd). They’re a bizarre match. She works for a non-profit kids theater. He invents apps. She’s in Bushwick. He’s spying on his ex-wife’s posh Manhattan digs. She karaokes. He windsurfs. The script parses every clash down to coffee versus tea, leaving only their most visible difference, skin color, unmentioned. (The jokes spring from their personalities, not ’90s stand-up cliches.)

All Jessica and Boone have in common are their awful recent break-ups and their mutual astonishment that they’re still in the same room. On their blind meet-up, Jessica tells Boone that he reminds her Damon—technically, “how much of him you’re not.” Ouch. But Boone doesn’t take the date, and by extension, the diss, seriously. “Cool,” he shrugs. Or really, “Coougglllhh,” the sound of a spirit squeezing out of a Dublin grave and wandering off to haunt someone else.

O’Dowd hasn’t had a role this good since his sweetheart cop chased Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids . He’s made to woo diamond-sharp women—his humor curls around to show them off like a ring. Where Williams’ Jessica never thinks before she talks, he pauses between each word. His delivery is so hesitant, he seems to invent punchlines on the spot. O’Dowd’s ambling charm is a credit to Strouse’s direction, but I wouldn’t blame the director if he grumbled it might make audiences mistake his terrific zingers for improv.

Bad romantic comedies busy themselves inventing excuses to keep their couple apart. Good ones focus on where their couple connects. In The Incredible Jessica James , the question isn’t just where, but why bother? Especially when Boone sums up their first date as, “interesting, like, in an anthropological way.” But Boone and Jessica take each other so trivially that they allow themselves to get honest—not just Jessica’s navel-gazing rants, but real honesty, the kind she can’t even have with her midwestern family, a house of normals who look at her like a space alien that claims to come from their planet.

Strouse goes for the easy joke when Jessica flies home to Ohio for her younger sister’s baby shower with doom metal thundering over shots of chocolate-filled diapers. Yet, he’s making a quieter point. Jessica doesn’t belong here. Even when she tries to blend, allowing her sister to pick her clothes and smooth over her death-to-the-patriarchy quips, she has to build her own life far away from here. In the sequence’s last scene, Jessica’s family crowds onto a couch to watch a Hallmark movie. She can’t squeeze in. Instead, Jessica stands behind the snugglers in the darkness, torn between being glad she doesn’t fit, and wondering how much easier life would be if she could. After a weekend in suburbia, you get why she gives Boone another go.

“I think it’s really dangerous to seek personal fulfillment through romantic relationships,” commands Jessica in her opening scene. Still, the movie wants her to have love, and everything else too. Strouse can’t resist giving his leading lady everything she wants: a star-making role in a screenplay that ends like a burst of confetti. He’s in such a hurry to get there that the romance is rushed and the secondary subplots pass by like blurs. Were we supposed to care about her students’ big recital? About Tasha’s acting career? As compelling as Williams is, that hollowness makes The Incredible Jessica James feel less like a meal and more like an aperitif to get us hungry for what she and Strouse whip up next. They know you’ll be there. As Jessica grins, “I’m frigging dope!”

The Incredible Jessica James will be released on Netflix on July 28.

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, sundance 2017: “the incredible jessica james” & “the little hours”.

Sundance programmers are smart enough to know that many attendees would be bringing their own personal storm cloud related to the new President’s inauguration falling on the first full day of this year’s event. Perhaps that’s why they programmed a special screening of one of the most purely enjoyable romantic comedies in a long time and a world premiere of a wacky, broad, gigantic ensemble laugher that equally allowed moviegoers to leave the real world behind for 90 minutes. Both of these flicks are often remarkably funny, and they do something similar in the way they play up to the strengths of their talented casts. Not every comedy needs to break the mold, and many of our best in the genre worked because they were designed for the people who fronted them.

Such is the case with “The Incredible Jessica James ,” from Jim Strouse (“ People Places Things ,” “ Grace is Gone ”), which the writer/director admitted in his introduction was created for “The Daily Show” veteran Jessica Williams . And it shows. She is fantastic, and one truly hopes this film opens dozens of doors for her. It is a movie wildly and unapologetically in love with its leading lady. It’s not that it presents its title character without flaws but that even her insecurities and anxieties come across as so genuine that the people around her love those parts of her as well. It’s a simple film—about a woman getting over one relationship and into another, while also dealing with the delayed gratification that often comes when one pursues a life in the arts—but that simplicity can be deceiving. This is not an easy balancing act. If it was, there would be more quality romantic comedies like it.

Williams plays, of course, Jessica James, a character introduced dancing her way through her apartment, up the stairs, and to her Bushwick roof. She is all energy—fast-talking and faster-thinking. She is defiant in the face of societal norms—a scene in which she gives her younger sister a book about defying the patriarchy for a baby shower is perfectly in tune with the character—but she’s struggling in two areas of her life. She just broke up with her boyfriend Damon (Lakeith Stanfield, great here and in the also-at-Sundance “Crown Heights”) and she gets daily rejection letters in her attempts to become a playwright. She works at a theater for children interested in playwriting and does some odd jobs with a friend ( Noel Wells of “Master of None”). Said friend introduces her to a recently-divorced guy named Boone (Chris O’Dowd), and the two help each other get over their recent break-ups.

“The Incredible Jessica James” is genuinely funny, but not in an aggressively bit-driven way. Strouse is too delicate of a filmmaker for that, although there are some wonderful broad comedy scenes, including several dream sequences Jessica has about her ex. For the most part though, the humor is character-driven, and this is what’s lacking from most modern rom-coms—relatability. It’s so hard to see ourselves in most romantic comedy characters, but it’s easy to picture checking your ex’s social media feeds obsessively or casually walking by your ex-wife’s house every night just to see what’s up. And Williams conveys the artistic drive of this character beautifully. She doesn't write because she wants to , she has no other choice. And she puts that energy into everything. Jessica and Boone are likable people (O’Dowd hasn’t been this funny since “ Bridesmaids ”) and it’s just a pleasure to hang out with them for 90 minutes and then move on. It’s not a movie meant to change the world, just to give you a little bit of joy. Try not to smile.

The same could be said about Jeff Baena ’s wacky “The Little Hours,” a film with echoes of Mel Brooks in its non-contemporary setting, broad physical comedy, unexpected punchlines, and gigantic ensemble (seriously, every other face is a recognizable one). Baena uses one of the stories of The Decameron as the inspiration for a comedy of religious people who don’t exactly have the expected moral code for a film set in a 14 th century convent. Baena may have used The Decameron explicitly but he’s also inspired by physically-driven comedies of the ‘70s and ‘80s, with echoes of “The History of the World, Part 1” and Monty Python’s work. It’s often hysterically funny, especially when allowing its talented cast to play up to their individual strengths.

That cast is led by Alison Brie as Sister Allesandra, living a simple life in a convent, although her sisters are jealous of her greater creature comforts courtesy of her father’s ( Paul Reiser ) donations to the church. Said sisters include the foul-mouthed and possibly sociopathic Fernanda ( Aubrey Plaza ) and the more demure and chaste Ginerva ( Kate Micucci ). Their simple life is interrupted when a young man named Massetto ( Dave Franco ) takes up residence as a handyman in their convent. Hidden there by Father Tommasso ( John C. Reilly ), Massetto pretends to be a deaf-mute (again, so Brooks) so as not to raise suspicions. Of course, this only makes him more fascinating to the sisters, who all try to sleep with him. Molly Shannon co-stars and Nick Offerman and Fred Armisen practically steal the movie in just a few scenes.

Again, much like “Jes sica James,” a review of “The Little Hours” can be summarized in the word "enjoyable." I laughed, multiple times. And that’s really all Baena wants here. He’s not making any grand statements about religion or sexuality. He just wants you to laugh. And I did. A lot. At this Sundance, more than most years, that seems like a gift.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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‘The Incredible Jessica James’ Review: Jessica Williams Is Stellar In This Irresistible Comedy

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On paper, everything about The Incredible Jessica James sounds redundant and clich é . A young New York City transplant living in gentrified Brooklyn struggles to find success in the arts. She’s still not over a recent break-up, then meets and falls for an unlikely guy. We’ve heard this story before, but a refreshing sense of humor and a stellar performance from actress-comedian Jessica Williams  brings Jim Strouse’s Sundance Closing Night Film to life.

Williams’ Jessica is an aspiring playwright who works at a non-profit teaching theater to young kids. She’s been single for three-and-a-half months, but still wakes up from feverish stress dreams where she’s arguing with her ex (Lakeith Stanfield). After some disappointing Tinder dates, her best friend (Noel Wells) sets her up on a date with an older divorcee named Boone, (Chris O’Dowd). What ensues is fairly predictable – they don’t like each other at first, then they do, then its complicated.

I’ll be the first to admit this was not a film I thought I’d like. I was reluctant to watch something another aimless aspiring writer oozing with self-pity. But Jessica James is different, and follows a likable character who’s passionate, driven, and genuinely desires to make herself better. The film swaps the self-deprecating narcissism of so many movies like this for self-worth and tireless ambition. Williams’ Jessica never lets her current career problems thwart her. She tapes her rejection letters from producing companies to her wall, not to wallow, but to inspire her to keep applying – and she does, and more and more letters arrive in the mail. When one rejection letter from Playwrights Horizons compliments her writing style and voice, she calls her best friend beaming with excitement; sure it’s a rejection, but at least it’s a personalized one that noticed her work. Even better, Jessica never doubts her worth or her talent. When Boone admits he really likes her, she responds, with glowing confidence rather than arrogance or ego, “Of course you do. Everyone likes me because I’m dope!”

Williams’ performance, full of fiery energy, snappy quips, and childlike playfulness, makes Jessica a pure delight to watch. She’s the type of person you’d want to dance with at a bar, or whom you might want to avoid a date with if you’re not prepared for blunt honesty – in the film’s opening scene Jessica wastes no time grilling her date about his Tinder message asking, “Wanna bone?” Williams lands each of her lines with a perfect punch, while also bringing a warmth to her more somber, heartfelt moments with a young playwright in her class (a lovely performance by Taliyah Whitaker). It’s a role that makes you wonder why the heck Williams hasn’t starred in more films, and makes you hope other directors will get the memo and start giving her the screen time she deserves.

It would be a shame if Strouse’s film was written off as just another box-checking Brooklyn rom-com. It’s ripe with a timely sense of humor about hipster culture, social media, and online dating. It may not be a film that ages well, but much like Broad City  and 2015’s  Hello My Name Is Doris , The Incredible Jessica James has its finger on the pulse of millennial culture, minus the cynicism and sulking that so often comes with it. Funny, feel good, and touching,  The Incredible Jessica James will leave you with a smile on your face. And who could argue with that?

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The Incredible Jessica James

Jessica james is an aspiring playwright in nyc and while trying to get over recent break-up meets boone who is also in a similar boat. forming an unlikely friendship, the two of them try to figure out how they make it through their post-relationship lives. for those who also liked friends from college and catching feelings..

A really lovely independent movie starring the wonderful Jessica Williams as Jessica James, a 25 year old aspiring playwright living in New York who is trying to figure out her life. It's more modern twist on a romantic comedy that follows Jessica on her life's path soon after she breaks up with her boyfriend after a two year relationship. We first meet her on a tinder date and get the measure of her pretty quickly. Jessica doesn't suffer fools gladly and swerves the mushy sentiment of happily ever after preferring to be more pragmatic about what life really has to offer.

Still consumed by her ex-boyfriend she embarks on a blind date that her best friend sets up and what emerges is an unusual friendship with Boone, played by Chris O'Dowd. What makes this really really good is that the conversation and the way it's scripted and acted could be straight out of a real life date. There's no soft focus, coy hair twirling or cute flirting that we tend to see in most rom coms these days. And it's a welcome change. In fact the interaction between Williams and O'Dowd is just great and the progression of their relationship really hits the mark and pops off the screen.

Of course the entire story isn't about the two of them. It charters Jessica James' attempts to become a playwright as she teaches acting and writing classes for kids and faces rejection after rejection from the theatres she would love to work with. Throw in an awkward family occasion at her sister's baby shower and Jessica starts to realise that not everything in life is as defined as she first thought and that maybe the very things in life she was running away from are actually the things she wants.

I really enjoyed this. It was very real in the way it looked at life from a lot of different perspectives. Fresh out of a relationship, or a divorce, or a child caught up in a custody battle or somebody simply looking for direction in life and having the courage to stick with what hasn't quite worked out yet, it was more real than most hollywood rom-coms and quite rightly deserves that positive reviews it received on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

• Jessica Williams
• Chris O'Dowd
• A Little Slow In Places

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‘The Great Lillian Hall' Review: Jessica Lange Is Incandescent As Legendary Stage Actress Facing Dementia

I am a sucker for movies about Broadway and those who spend their lives in the theatre. Of course the crown jewel of the genre is the Oscar winning All About Eve, but there are so many others including 1933’s Morning Glory which won a young Katherine Hepburn her first Academy Award, as well as its rarely seen remake, 1958’s underrated Stage Struck. Ginger Rogers did a good one, Forever Female. The list goes on and on and now includes a stellar new entry, The Great Lillian Hall which gives the great Jessica Lange a challenging role worth her talents.

Premiering on HBO May 31, just barely under the wire for Emmy consideration, Lange’s performance as a stage legend facing dementia should send chills down the spine of any other contenders for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie this season. This veteran star simply knocks it out of the park. Lange herself is coincidentally currently trodding the boards on Broadway in Mother Play , another great showcase for her talents that recently won her the NY Drama Critics Award as well as a Tony nomination.

For this HBO film she stars as Lillian Hall who is about to embark on a new production of The Cherry Orchard and the whole production depends on her star value so there is concern when during rehearsals she is increasingly having trouble remembering lines, so much so that the play’s sympathetic but worried director David (Jesse Williams) and frantic producer Jane (Cindy Hogan) who is especially concerned about her cash cow insist that she sees the doctor the production engages. That is where she gets the bad news. She has a form of dementia that is only going to slowly get worse. Basically she is in a state of denial but does reluctantly agreeto the doctor’s demand she take a test in the office, which with shaking hands she resolutely fails but then tries to cover up, even from those closest to her including her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) and ever faithful assistant and longtime friend Edith (Kathy Bates), the latter who basically runs her life and keeps her upright. She knows her so well she is the first to figure out the truth, but Lillian powers on, even as hallucinations of her late stage director husband keep popping into her head.

Every now and then she has heartfelt conversations about life and theatre with her next door neighbor Ty played by Pierce Brosnan who adds his own level of charm to role that doesn’t demand much more than simply being Pierce Brosnan. There is also much time spent watching the production of Cherry Orchard take form with a leading lady who is becoming increasingly worrisome. Director Michael Cristofer, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner for 1977’s The Shadow Box, as well as the author of several other plays and an actor himself, really knows his way around this theatrical world and manages to build a surprising amount of suspense around the question of if Lillian will even make it to opening night, so even though the production is perceived to be nothing without its star attraction they do get the stand-by ready nevertheless ready to appear, but without notice to the unsuspecting audience. Will she have to go on instead?

The strength here is that Lange never goes for the easy route with this portrayal, a very real fact of life for so many and she really imbues her with the sense of disbelief this could be happening to the great Lillian Hall who seems to be a person not aware of the clock ticking on life. An early scene sees her accept a phone call from the head of the Tony Awards telling her they want to present her with a life achievement award, something she can’t quite compute. “How old do they think I am?,” she asks Edith. “About 106,” comes back her deadpan retort. Bates is terrific as always, really nailing the persona of someone who is always there to look out for Lillian over many decades, but is also a genuine friend, especially when she comes up with a hearing device in order to deliver Lillian her lines. Rabe, whose theatre credentials go back to also being the daughter of the late Jill Clayburgh and playwright David Rabe, is perfectly cast here as the daughter who fights against the idea that she was always second to her mother’s love of theatre first. She gets a fiery emotional scene confronting her mother about why she was not told about her condition, and she delivers authentically. I also was amused by Hogan’s grasp of what it is to be a producer in the crap shoot of staging Broadway plays.

Lange by the way is wonderful in interpreting Lyuba, the woman she plays in The Cherry Orchard, so much so that you might hope she would take it on for real one day.

Producers are Bruce Cohen, Steven Rogers, Scott Thigpen, and Marie Halliday.

Title: The Great Lillian Hall

Distributor: HBO

Release Date: May 31, 2024

Director: Michael Cristofer

Screenplay: Elizabeth Seldes Annacone

Cast: Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Lily Rabe, Pierce Brosnan, Jesse Williams, Cindy Hogan

Running Time: 1 hour and 51 minutes

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Review: Jessica Lange gives one of her best performances in 'The Great Lillian Hall'

"The Great Lillian Hall" stars Jessica Lange in one of her finest performances.

Starring the great Jessica Lange in one of her best performances—and that's really saying something— "The Great Lillian Hall," now on HBO/Max, is essential viewing for those eager to see what acting can be at its transcendent, transfixing finest.

Lange plays Lillian Hall, an acclaimed stage actress now in rehearsal for the Broadway opening of "The Cherry Orchard," the 1904 Chekvov play about Madame Lyubov Ranevskaya, a Russian aristocrat forced to sell her family estate before it's auctioned off to pay her debts.

What Chekhov considered a comedy, audiences saw as tragic. What you'll see in "The Great Lillian Hall" is both. In rehearsal, Lillian laughs about forgetting a few lines until X-rays from a mandatory medical visit reveal what looks like sugar sprinkled over her brain.

The sprinkles are Lewy bodies, proteins that build up in areas of the brain, resulting in a form of dementia that will cause memory loss, functional decline, tremors and hallucinations that quickly move from temporary to permanent. No cure. Even denial can only last so long.

Lillian's support system includes a daughter (Lily Rabe) she's neglected since childhood, the living memory of her late theater director husband (Michael Rose), a neighbor (Pierce Brosnan) she flirts with on her Manhattan terrace, and her long-time, long suffering assistant Edith (Oscar winner Kathy Bates, magnificent as usual) whose tough love she truly needs.

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Of course, the lifeline Lillian needs most is the theater. She gets sympathy from her young Turk director (Jesse Williams), but only cold impatience from her producer (Cindy Hogan), who'd fire Lillian in a heartbeat if the play's box office wouldn't crater instantly.

Until sappiness invades, there's a bitchy "All About Eve" snap to the dialogue by Elisabeth Seldes Annacone, whose late aunt, the stage legend Marian Seldes, also suffered from Lewy body dementia but never lost the courage to look truth straight in the face.

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It's lucky that skilled director Michael Cristofer, the Pulitzer-winning playwright of "The Shadow Box," has a welcome allergy to mawkish sentiment. Self pity does nothing for Lillian's life and Cristofer follows her path with bracing grit and grace.

Better yet, Cristofer has Oscar-Emmy-Tony winner Lange, radiant and riveting at 75, giving her all to a film that sees acting as a selfish but still noble profession. From Blanche in "Streetcar" to the drug-addicted Mary Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night," Lange has acted in many of the classic parts attributed to Lillian, a role Lange wears like a second skin.

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With an earpiece connected to a microphone Lillian wears on stage, Bates finds humor and heart in the way Edith hides backstage to whisper a forgotten line. No happy ending is promised or delivered. The earpiece is a short-term fix at best. But Lange makes sure the nurturing spirit of theater to create "eternity in a moment" resonates from first scene to last.

Unlike the fallen noble woman in "The Cherry Orchard," who looks greedily on the past that represents her lost youth, Lange lives gloriously in the present. She's now on Broadway giving a Tony nominated tour de force in "The Mother Play," ever eager for the next challenge to catch eternity in a moment.

"The Great Lillian Hall" is Lange's latest master class. Sit back and behold.

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‘The Great Lillian Hall’ Review: Jessica Lange Is a Diva Battling Memory Loss as Broadway’s Lights Dim Around Her

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So it’s fitting that, whether she knows it or not, Lillian Hall’s ( Jessica Lange ) upcoming turn as Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” will be her final performance. Michael Cristofer’s new HBO film introduces Hall to us as a quintessential Broadway diva, a Patti LuPone type universally acknowledged as the “first lady of the American theater.” Few professions in the entertainment industry are kinder to aging women than Broadway stardom, and Hall’s status as a theatrical matriarch has turned this Chekhov revival into the hottest event of the New York theater season.

But final dress rehearsals are derailed by chaos amid Upper West Side culture vulture buzz about the production — which also marks the Broadway debut of edgy theater director David Flemming (Jesse Williams), receiving his first taste of establishment legitimacy after years of being hailed as a rising genius. As Lillian struggles to remember her lines and blocking, the show’s backers are forced to consider the possibility that she’s no longer capable of carrying a Broadway production. As they weigh the risks of replacing her with a less bankable but more competent understudy, she takes a cognitive exam that reveals she has an early form of dementia.

Elisabeth Seldes Annacone’s script gives Lange plenty to work with, and the actress — currently starring in her own Broadway production with Paula Vogel’s “Mother Play” — gives a rich performance that shows why she’s still at the top of her game. Lillian spends much of the film in an ephemeral stage of early dementia in which she knows who she is and what she’s doing, but the world gradually starts to look more and more confusing. Lange surrounds the character with an aura of ultra-politeness that you’d expect from someone so focused on outward appearances, but reveals more vulnerability as Lillian’s world slips away.

While Lillian is often haunted by ghosts of her past and present (including Pierce Brosnan, whose role as the retired actor living next to Lillian sees him playing a siren of geriatric handsomeness who is constantly tempting her), the film is ultimately most interested in celebrating the irrational levels of devotion that live theater inspires in the people who make it. While it doesn’t pull punches about the challenges that lie ahead, “ The Great Lillian Hall ” ultimately makes it clear that its protagonist is lucky to have something that’s so hard to let go. But just like Chekhov’s timeless stone fruit heirs, that realization only comes to Lillian after she causes endless damage to everyone around her.

“The Great Lillian Hall” will air on HBO and stream on Max on Friday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET.

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