When his husband unexpectedly dies, Marc’s world shatters, sending him and his two best friends on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face.

The directorial debut of Dan Levy, who most will know from the TV series ‘Schitt’s Creek‘, is a comedy-drama about a man who takes his two best friends to Paris to help him get over the loss of his husband, who died in a car crash a year earlier. This is complicated by a letter that he opens on the anniversary of his partner’s death that reveals some uncomfortable truths about their relationship. Levy stars himself as Marc, with his best friends Sophie and Thomas played by Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel, with the three of them making a fun trio to follow.

‘Good Grief’ begins at a Christmas party, where Marc says goodbye to his husband Oliver (Luke Evans), who goes outside and dies in a car accident seconds later. After a year of grieving he opens the aforementioned letter from Oliver, revealing that Oliver planned to leave him and that he had an apartment and another man in Paris, leaving Marc crestfallen. Shortly after this, Marc, Sophie and Thomas head to Paris for the weekend, where they meet new people and let loose a little, in many respects to prevent them from having to open up to each other about what they are really feeling. I did find ‘Good Grief’ a little predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless thanks to the fun performances and sharply written dialogue, and while Levy can’t avoid sliding into sentimentality, there is a warmth that makes you care about these characters.

‘Good Grief’ is a solid movie with fun performances, and while it perhaps lacks the depth of better movies in tackling the subject of grief and moving on, it is a promising start in directing from Dan Levy.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Dan Levy

Starring: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, Arnaud Valois and Luke Evans

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt19887550/