Good Advice

A spoiler light review of Good Advice should begin with tone, because Steve Rash understands exactly how this comedy ought to feel. Good Advice gains early credibility from Charlie Sheen, whose presence is balanced by the different rhythm of Angie Harmon. The foundation of Good Advice can be stated simply: An investment banker loses everything and must discover what's important in life. Within its 1h 33m running time, Good Advice reveals both the benefits and the limits of that disciplined approach.

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The most useful technical choice in Good Advice is comic timing built around character, because it helps the audience understand both space and mood. Emmett/Furla Oasis Films frames Good Advice through comic timing built around character without letting surface finish replace character. Drawing on its United States background, Good Advice uses well judged reactions to give familiar material a more specific texture. Cinematography, sound and editing meet effectively in Good Advice whenever a sequence must feel large without losing its human scale.

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What keeps Good Advice emotionally readable is Charlie Sheen, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Angie Harmon, Good Advice gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Denise Richards contributes a separate rhythm to Good Advice and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Steve Rash gives the cast of Good Advice room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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At story level, Good Advice turns the central character and an important relationship into the source of its main tension. The role played by Charlie Sheen becomes the viewer's route through Good Advice, especially when a difficult choice begins to alter the situation. Daniel Margosis gives Good Advice momentum by allowing choices to create consequences instead of treating each scene as isolated information. Even when the wider conflict pushes the plot toward familiar ground, Good Advice remains attentive to what that pressure means for its characters.

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Steve Rash gives Good Advice a directorial line that is alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of Good Advice is strongest when Steve Rash allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, Good Advice confirms that the cast and craft keep the experience watchable across most of the running time. A tighter version of Good Advice would address how too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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Good Advice finds additional purpose in its examination of embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Through the performance of Charlie Sheen, Good Advice makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of the central character repeatedly returns Good Advice to the cost behind its more visible developments. Steve Rash is most persuasive when Good Advice allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, Good Advice is ultimately an uneven film with enough personality to remain interesting. Its most persuasive combination in Good Advice brings Charlie Sheen together with well judged reactions under the direction of Steve Rash. The fact that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested prevents Good Advice from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Good Advice has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.