The Incredible Jessica James

And All Your Exes

I was consuming a lot of print media when I was down. I watched as they all started to fall – Entertainment Weekly, Film Comment, a few others. But for long periods of time, I had to accept whatever portrait of the outside world they were giving me. So forgive me for briefly thinking that it had become a Jessica Williams world, and we were only living in it.

Williams became a Daily Show correspondent at only 22, a springboard for a ton of talent. Witty and beautiful, she quickly springboarded into a movie called “People, Places, Things” (which will be reviewed here at some point). Apparently, writer-director James C. Strouse liked her so much that he wrote this film for her, a year before she jumped aboard the moribund “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. Of course, like many indies purchased by Netflix, it disappeared into the algorithm. But I’m glad it was waiting for me when I got home. Not particularly for Strouse’s work, but because of the luminous Ms. Williams.

Williams plays the title character, who can’t keep a job or a man. There are reasons for this, but I’ll be honest, they are flimsy, not-entirely-plausible “movie” reasons. This is a NYC movie, but even though it’s clearly filmed there, it feels like it might as well be Canada. Not much of it feels organic. Netflix purchased this at Sundance, but if you guessed that Netflix produced it in-house, would it be so different?

She’s still hung up over her ex (the very busy Lakeith Stansfield, who understandably doesn’t seem to be aware he’s in this movie), so it’s only appropriate that she meets Chris O’Dowd, the unthreatening love interest of “Bridesmaids”. See, he too can’t get over his ex, and so the two lonely lovebirds rants to each other about this every chance they get. Williams and O’Dowd have a mild chemistry. I didn’t mind them together. Pity poor Noel Wells of “Saturday Night Live”, who is stuck as the Sexless Best Friend here. I can’t believe this banal stuff showed up at Sundance.

Williams works with children at an independent theater, where she… teaches them, I suppose, though really she’s using them to motivate herself. There is a solid scene late in the film where she realizes she’s badgering a kid for the chances she herself didn’t take at a young age. And of course, at least in the moment, she doesn’t stop. We’ve all been there, in our unfulfilled potential. I’m sure even Elon Musk figured he’d grow up to be more charismatic.

I was rooting for this movie, at least as much as you can root for a Netflix movie. The issue is that Williams is such a delight, but the movie seems determined to remind you of this. It’s a constant barrage of James ending scenes with some sort of in-story validation of her, whether she’s right or wrong. What does that add to the film except for an obnoxious invisible hand guiding you towards where you want to go? It’s as if every scene of “When Harry Met Sally” ended with one of them telling the other one, “Hey. You’re great.” Strouse, a filmmaker who began his career with heavily emotional dramas, perhaps doesn’t trust the laughs of this film, so he needs to buttress the likability of an already-likable star. I firmly believe we’re in a Post-Movie-Star World because filmmakers don’t care about illuminating the appeal of certain actors. Strouse pretty much doesn’t know how to.

An obsession over exes feels relatable for the prisoner inside. When we are down, we look through our rolodexes for past friends, old family members, and distant lovers. The reality of incarceration is that one day, you may hear from someone with whom you’ve been intimate because that person has landed in custody. People who are incarcerated never forget the ones in their life, whether relationships ended poorly or simply fizzled out.

I can’t tell you, man or woman, how to react when this happens. You may be repulsed. You may be alarmed. I reached out to a few former lovers, and many were not happy about that. Largely, I can’t blame them. But if that person on the other end of the line becomes you, please remember that your incarcerated ex, or even just friend, needs any kind of support you can give. You may end up breaking their heart again. But your voice, your letters, or maybe just your cash in their account could make them change their mind and decide to live tomorrow. You might have to lie, but that lie will be better than whatever alternative they face the next day as they stare into the abyss. Because like it or not, your picture is probably hanging up in his or her locker, and they are thinking of you.