Watch Kodachrome on Netflix
Written by: Jonathan Tropper, A.G. Sulzberger (based on "For Kodachrome Fans, Road Ends at Photo Lab in Kansas" by)
Directed by: Mark Raso
Starring: Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen, Bruce Greenwood, Dennis Haysbert
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
Set during the final days of the revered photo development system known as Kodachrome, a father and son hit the road in order to reach the Kansas photo lab before it closes its doors for good.
Verdict
The premise feels like something I've seen a few times. An estranged father and son are brought together for a road trip. This ends up being nothing but irritatingly predictable. A character in the movie talks about taking risks, but this movie doesn't heed it's own advice. This ends, and there's nothing. All of these underlying emotions I attributed to the characters during the trip feel like a waste of time. It was false depth. I'm so mad the movie might as well owe me money.
Skip it.
Review
Music agent Matt (Jason Sudeikis) loses a big client and in turn his job. If that's not all, a visit from his estranged father's assistant reveals that Matt's dad Ben (Ed Harris) is dying and wants a road trip with his son. Matt agrees to meet for no other reason than to further the plot and illustrate their fractured relationship. Ben wasn't much of a father and Matt is still resentful. Maybe he agreed to see him to get in one more jab. Ben wants a trip to the last lab that develops Kodachrome film. Ben's a photographer after all. Matt agrees because Ben can get him a sought after interview with a big time band.
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| Jason Sudeikis, Ed Harris, Elizabeth Olsen play Matt, Ben, Zooey |
Will Matt reconcile with his dad? Will they both learn from the other and grow closer? What about Ben's nurse Zooey (Elizabeth Olsen)? Will she and Matt have a thing? How predictable will this be?
Ben relishes being antagonistic for no real reason. It seems he's just a
sad old man that wants everyone to be as miserable as he is. Ben has to
trample on any moment that might be nice. Meanwhile Matt and Zooey
connect over music and failed relationships.
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| Elizabeth Olsen, Ed Harris, Bruce Greenwood, Jason Sudeikis, Wendy Crewson play Zooey, Ben, Dean, Matt, Sarah |
Matt gets in the room with the band he needs to sign, but he draws a line defending his father which negates the deal. Why would that happen other than to help the movie's plot? While we have seen Matt defend everyone around him, even his deadbeat dad, this scene doesn't feel earned. Ben apologizes for years of neglect and insults. That feels like a cop out. It could be Ben assuaging his own conscience while Matt is desperate for anything that even resembles his father's love, but it's not presented as that. It's a tidy conclusion that feels like a cheat.
To top it off, we finally see the photos that required a cross-country trip to get developed, and it undermines everything we've seen. It's a saccharine ending that's unfounded and unsubstantiated by anything witnessed up to that point. This conclusion presents this new side of Ben that Matt doesn't even remember, and we get no explanation as to what happened from then to now to make Ben a miserable old man that neglected his son. It's just a cheap trick ending.
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