Grade: (A)
“FIXED” is a coming to terms comedy starring; Andy Comeau, Courtney Henggeler, Nelson Franklin, Leonard Roberts, and is directed by Alonso Mayo. This story follows Allan, a husband and father of three, who despite his domesticated lifestyle still wants to cling to as much of his youth as possible.
But this will not be easy when he learns his wife is no longer able to take birth control, and that he will have to visit the idea of getting a vasectomy. Something that propels him into a midlife crisis, as he contemplates his life, his future, and the idea of getting snipped.
I will open by saying this was a hilarious movie that thrives with a grounded plot and characters that feel like real people, and not performers. The plot is something most people can relate to and that helps pull you into the story, making you even more able and willing to connect with the characters. Being able to understand and relate to the point of view of the characters through their experiences created such an engaging vibe while watching. The dialogue is extremely well written and creates so many natural laughs that weave into the conversations extremely well in my opinion.
Despite laughing many times throughout this movie, there were only a small handful of times that you could feel the comical intention. Throughout most of the film the hilarious lines, scenarios, and situations, come off so organic in the conversation between the characters, that it creates even more of an amusing, and at times hysterical impact.
The performances from top-to-bottom are great. The cast felt very well chosen and each of the characters deliver a differing personality and the result was a fresh mix to the comedic undertones. Ones that I found to be very effective in generating intrigue, and more important an overall interest in where this story would eventually go.
Andy Comeau and Courtney Henggeler were both fantastic. They feel like a true down-to-earth couple and it helps the plot resonate even more with the viewer. Their relationship dynamic was common to most, and none of the situations they went through ever felt overly exaggerated which helps make the laughs land even more effectively. Nelson Franklin and Leonard Roberts were both excellent as well. They both land laughs in different ways and with dialogue that never feels scripted you feel like you are sitting in on many comical but grounded conversations that normal guys would actually have.
To keep the pace moving there were some nice side characters that greatly add to the overall package. Mindy Sterling, Erinn Hayes and Alan Ruck all come in to add come energy and charisma with their roles. In particular, that of Alan Ruck who played Dr. Ken. He made a lasting impression with each of his scenes and his comedic delivery was so smooth that he creates many memorable moments with little screen-time.
Despite the fun performances that all do help to create an amusing collection of characters. It was the writing that served as the glue to everything. There are so many comedies that force the humor in relentless waves, and for the entire run-time it is one joke attempt after another. Something that makes “Fixed” so entertaining was the fact it delivered three times the laughs as your usual comedy, with ease and what felt like a quarter of the effort as your usual genre script.
This film premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival in March, and made a strong showing at the Newport Beach Film Festival in April. So, let’s hope this one gets a wider release because it is definitely worth the time and provides more than enough laughs that a general audience could appreciate.