Am I OK?. 2024
Directed by Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro
Starring Dakota Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jermaine Fowler, Kiersey Clemons, Molly Gordon, Whitmer Thomas, Sean Hayes, Tig Notaro, Odessa A’zion, Jess Nurse, and Emma Pasarow
SYNOPSIS:
Lucy and Jane have been best friends for most of their lives and think they know everything there is to know about each other. But when Jane announces she’s moving to London, Lucy reveals a long-held secret. As Jane tries to help Lucy, their friendship is thrown into chaos.
In the anxiety-fueled, life-affirming Am I OK?, Lucy’s (Dakota Johnson) childhood best friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) drunkenly admits that she casually kissed a girl when they were teenagers. For Jane, it’s a casual, throwaway confession, but for the sexually confused and likely closeted Lucy, it is the tiniest of window cracks to be vulnerable and open up about that confusion free of judgment. There also happens to be a masseuse (Kiersey Clemons) working at a spa Lucy is a receptionist at, who also seems unsure of what gender she is attracted to and, more to the point, is increasingly flirtatious with Lucy. Meanwhile, Jade is preparing to move back to London for a job promotion, bringing her supportive boyfriend (Jermaine Fowler) along for the life adventure, a dynamic that strains the relationship.
Despite being accepted by her best friend, Lucy is still fearful of pursuing something romantic or sexual with a woman, hitting up a lesbian club to meet like-minded individuals, or responding to her co-worker’s obvious hints of spicy interest. This understandably frustrates the well-intentioned Jane, who begins to spend more time around her more extroverted and adventurous co-worker friend, Kat (Molly Gordon), who is also set to travel to London.
While the above might make directing team Stephanie Allynne’s and Tig Notaro’s Am I OK? (from a screenplay by Lauren Pomerantz) appear to be strictly about the sexual identity side of self-discovery, it is deceptively deeper than that; it’s about fluctuating lives and the risks people are either willing or uncertain to take. It turns out that Jane has some control issues even though she means well, going as far as making decisions under the assumption that other people will also want that choice. The film is also about the more artistically fulfilling career paths we leave behind to forge a more conventional, conformative, boring lifestyle, further complicating our understanding of who we are.
Then there is the developing chemistry between Lucy and that masseuse, Brittany, who admits to one time agreeing to fondle a client’s genitalia for a sizable tip and because she found him cute, but also clearly because, even after a failed heteronormative relationship, she is still struggling to make sense of her sexual identity. It all leads to a hangout night where Lucy tries on some of Brittany’s not-in-use clothing, which quickly becomes a clever way for the latter to express infatuation with the former. There is a sexual encounter that changes everything for both of them.
Without saying much, it’s an undeniable stroke of genius regarding where the filmmakers take this dynamic from that point. However, since the film’s perspective is decidedly fixated on Lucy, it’s questionable if all of the juicy drama and characterization are squeezed out of this. That’s not to say the script needed to ramp up with arguments and melodrama, as one of the stronger aspects here is how characters handle bad news and heartbreak with maturity, but there is a story here for Brittany, too, that also deserves more telling since it is the flip side of this discovery.
Dakota Johnson is impressive here in her petrified shyness, at using jokes to deflect a conversation elsewhere, and when exhibiting all-consuming nervousness that the world is going to come crumbling down if she makes a mistake flirting with someone or gets found out as a lesbian from venturing out into clubs or signing up to dating apps. Kiersey Clemons is also mousey but much more forward. There is a much more involving and emotional film that gives their dynamic more time.
However, Am I OK? is more concerned with being a story about friendship, falling into the usual clichés about life taking friends on different paths and the hardships of inevitably separating and not seeing one another as much. As such, its third act loses some of the authentic writing flair, practically contorting itself to bring Lucy and Jane each across several stages and points, reaching an ending that feels hollow in its sugary safeness.
Am I OK? was infamously purchased by Warner Bros. two years ago at Sundance, sitting in a black hole until finally getting its much-deserved release on Max. I bring this up because it’s also a perfect analogy for this viewing experience; it’s brisk, charming, endearing, and personal enough to where one sees why a big studio would purchase it, but also flawed and amateurish (and even indie-ish) just enough to where a wide release rollout would be a risky, tough sell, even with Dakota Johnson attached. In those final 25 minutes, it’s not okay, but everything else here is a delight, especially Dakota Johnson and Kiersey Clemons.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
