Here Today

I am a huge fan of Billy Crystal and the trailer for Here Today made me laugh so I went to see it last night.  Charlie Burnz (Crystal) is a well respected comedy writer responsible for successful Broadway plays, movies, television shows, and books.  He is currently the head writer for the popular sketch comedy show This Just In and is working on a memoir.  Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish) is a free-spirited singer who has lunch with Charlie because of a winning bid at a charity auction.  She eventually confesses that she has no idea who he is and just bid on him as a way to get back at her ex-boyfriend who is a big fan.  She has a severe allergic reaction to shellfish during lunch and, because she has no insurance, Charlie pays the substantial emergency room bill.  She attempts to pay him back little by little and they form an unlikely friendship.  She is the first to notice that he is suffering from dementia, which he has been keeping secret from everyone in his life, and helps him reconcile with his son Rex (Penn Badgley) and daughter Francine (Laura Benanti) who blame him for their mother's death.  I actually laughed out loud multiple times and I enjoyed the chemistry between Crystal and Haddish who both give incredibly charming performances.  The message about making peace with the past and living in the present is also very heartwarming but it does become quite mawkish in the final act.  The pacing gets a bit bogged down when the focus shifts from Charlie's relationship with Emma to his role as a mentor to an up-and-coming writer (Andrew Durrand) on the comedy show and to the flashbacks with his wife (Louisa Krause) which feel forced.  Despite the flaws, I liked this movie and so did the large and vocal crowd in my screening.