Here's a rom-com game-changer that doesn't know from slick, safe business as usual in which no problem can't be solved by a cheap laugh. Don't get me wrong. "Am I OK," an HBO film now streaming on Max, is funny as hell. It's the delicacy of feeling that sneaks up and floors you.
Dakota Johnson gives one of her best performances as Lucy, a receptionist at an L.A. health spa whose pretty smile barely hides the emotions roiling inside. On Lucy's rare dates with men that usually end in a handshake, one dude notes ruefully that "you treat me like your gay best friend."
What's going on? Lucy thinks it's nuts that she's 32 and only now willing to start the painful process of coming out as a lesbian. Breaking the news to her bff Jane (a sensational Sinoya Mizuno), Lucy sighs that usually "people figure this out when they're, like, nine."
"Am I OK" is about the people who don't figure it out right away and must deal with all the work required to get comfortable in their own skin. Online quizzes about how you know you're a lesbian offer little help by asking, "Do you like tennis" or "Do you listen to Tegan and Sara?"
What took Lucy so long? The elusive answers are teased throughout this touchingly personal and altogether extraordinary human comedy from debuting solo screenwriter Lauren Pomerantz, a former writer for "SNL" and Ellen DeGeneres. Her exuberant gift of a movie never takes the easy way out when awkward, uncomfortable reality offers far more challenging options.
MORE: Review: 'The Super Marios Bros. Movie' is the next best thing to playing the gameSharply directed by stand-up comic Tig Notaro and her wife Stephanie Allynne, "Am I OK" respects the Pomerantz script by digging into the things that make Lucy squirm.
Lucy cries all the time. "I'm scared of everything— I don't want to be this thing that's different," she tells Jane, her one constant who shakes her world with the news she'll be leaving L.A. with her boyfriend (Jermaine Fowler) when her boss (Sean Hayes) offers a new job in London.
Rip off the band-aid, says Jane. "No one is going to knock on your door looking for a wishy-washy lesbian who might want to try some stuff." Jane adds a stinger: "You're still scared to touch a woman, but I'm not leaving this country until you do."
Cue the waterworks, as Lucy decides to go it alone and act on her work attraction to flirty masseuse Brit (a terrific Kiersey Clemons). The two sleep together, but not before Lucy confesses she's a closeted artist ("I paint, that's what I like to do"), a verbal intimacy that tops anything physical in bed. And why does Brit act so confused and distant the morning after?
Casual sex isn't on Lucy's wish list. She needs the comfort of friendship like the one she wants so desperately to patch up with Jane. The nonsexual bond between two women, reflecting the real-life connection Pomerantz shares with producer Jessica Elbaum, is what gives "Am I OK" its lasting grip, no matter how you screw up your love life.
MORE: Review: 'In the Heights' pure unleashed joy grabs you and never lets goI should also point out that "Am I OK" is way more than OK. From its pitch-perfect performances to the empathetic Craig Wedren score and camera wizardry of Cristina Dunlap, the movie shuns doing what's expected in favor of running the obstacle course facing Lucy.
Keep an eye on Pomerantz. She's a talent to watch. Her dialogue has a breezy, confidential rhythm that pulls you right into her head and romantically bruised heart. No matter that the "happy" ending in this ode to late bloomers is provisional at best. That's life. And life is what "Am I OK" has in thrilling abundance. Treasure it.
