Do you have artifacts from failed relationships? If so, they could find a place in “The Broken Hearts Gallery.”
There, the lovesick can purge their pain and move on.
Lucy (Geraldine Viswanathan), a hoarder of heartbreak, hits on the concept when a gallery owner (Bernadette Peters) provides the nudge she needs to create her own art. Since she has a problem getting rid of totems from old boyfriends, she uses them to tell a bigger story.
By the time writer/director Natalie Krinsky gets around to the actual show she has gone through a lot of talk about hookups and past lives, plenty of bonding with girlfriends and a “meet cute” with the guy who’s creating a boutique hotel.
If this had a holiday theme, you might confuse it with a Lifetime Christmas movie.
Movies in a Minute: ‘The trial of the Chicago 7’ & ‘Clouds’
Luckily, Viswanathan is an ideal guide through the gallery of Lucy’s life. She experiences a rainbow of emotions with and without boyfriends, has a quirky CW-like sense of style and isn’t afraid to put her foot in her mouth.
When worlds collide, she digs deeper and finds the strength to pick up and move on.
Krinsky uses one-liners like punctuation, tossing them in like a freshman composition student.
She relies heavily on Viswanathan to get her out of plot twists that don’t quite go anywhere.
When Lucy meets Nick (Dacre Montgomery), she begins to shed the artifice of a rehearsed life.
REVIEW: ‘The Climb’ finds a winning path to friendship
He’s working on turning a YMCA into a hotel and willing to listen to her rants. Naturally, the two find common ground and hint at where this can head.
Krinsky avoids going there too quickly and, like a therapist, helps Lucy work through her hang-ups.
Often, “Broken Hearts Gallery” is guilty of too much. Its characters talk too much. Its cleverness is too twee. Its actors try too hard.
It perks up largely when Viswanathan is left to her own devices. She’s a highly talented actress (she scored in “Bad Education,” too) and should be given more complex roles to really test her talents.
“The Broken Hearts Gallery” is a great introduction. But it’s often like the gift shop in a museum. It’s a preview of what’s inside, not the main attraction.
DVD REVIEW: Choose ‘Schitt’s Creek’ over ‘Bill and Ted’
DVD REVIEW: Janelle Monae gets two parts, no harmony in ‘Antebellum’
DVD REVIEW: Complete ‘Flintstones’ set hits market just in time for holidays
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.