Allan Watched "Tully"
A movie that cannot be fully judged until its surprising conclusion settles into your mind long enough to take inventory of all that happened before its reveal, Tully is an inspiring masterclass by Charlize Theron that easily survives its “on-the-nose” approach.
Gut Feeling
The first take away of the movie is without a doubt the feeling of awe you get from watching one of the best in the business take you for an emotional ride. Theron is terrific, and is nearly matched by her co-star Mackenzie Davis throughout this story of a mother dealing with postpartum depression, a young son with emotional develop issues, and a husband who tries, but probably not hard enough. It all works, even the weird third act, once you understand what exactly was happening in the 80 minutes before a conclusion that I genuinely did not see coming.
Theron Brings It
There is no understating the brilliance of Theron, who transforms herself into Marlo, a mother of three, dealing with a multitude of family issues and PPD. Her Golden Globe nomination, the fifth of her career, is well deserved, and it will likely be followed by her third Best Actress Oscar nomination, which would be her first in 12 years. Davis (Always Shine, Blade Runner 2049) plays Tully, the night nurse hired by Theron’s rich-jerk brother (played effortlessly by Mark Duplass), and her youthful energy and positive outlook plays off of Theron’s despair perfectly. She also does a great job of staying subtle and not overacting, which would have tipped the hand towards the movie’s third-act revelation.
Ron Livingston (Office Space, A Million Little Things), who is my favorite every-man portrayer on the planet, is very enjoyable to watch as Marlo’s husband who works hard, but just doesn’t quite know what to do all the time. Livingston brings it in his most emotional scene, the only moment of the movie not dominated by Theron.
Reitman, Cody, and Theron Know What They Are Doing
Tully in my eyes ranks as my second-favorite Jason Reitman movie, with Up in the Air being my favorite, but it is also perhaps the best Reitman and Diablo Cody collaboration (Young Adult, Juno are the two others). This movie captures a lot of the charm and dark humor of Young Adult, also starring Theron, but I find Tully to be a little sweeter and more successful in its mission.
Reitman’s direction is extremely effective in its ability to create the chaotic, overwhelming, and sometimes-so-loud-you-want-to-scream feeling of being a parent of three. I’m not even a parent, but for a few moments I was able to feel the chaos, and it legitimately stressed me out at times.
Seemingly Superfluous
The only parts of this movie that I struggled with were ones that felt totally unnecessary. The run time of this movie is short, 90+ minutes, so there was not a lot of fat to trim, but for a quick movie some of it felt forced. For one, I do not think Duplass’s character, nor his wife’s character, were needed at all. They appear only a few times, and outside of his money being a catalyst of the night nurse and school plot points, the character doesn’t add much else to Marlo’s backstory, besides a tinge of jadedness that would be understandable without having an older brother who has more money than he knows what to do with. He is only in three scenes, and scenes two and three last for seconds, not minutes.
Random Thoughts
So Tully is this Godsend night nurse who is seemingly omniscient, but she walks in from driving in her car with all of her germs, and immediately touches a new born baby without washing her hands? Distracting.
The writing is very on the nose at times. The scene where the old woman tells a then-pregnant Marlo at the coffee shop that even decaf has a little caffeine in it was funny, but is an overplayed trope in movies with pregnant people. We get it, people are shitty.
This movie has received some flack for being “careless” regarding mental health, which I do not agree with. I think it was a very realistic portrayal of PPD, Marlo’s existing depression issues, and her sons emotional difficulties, even if it is approached very frankly.
Speaking of her son, the scene at his first day in his new school after going to a preppy, expensive private school was amazing. Public school rules, and teachers are amazing. Don’t @ me.
The Tully getting down with big Ron in Marlo’s clothes felt forced, but I got the point.
Speaking of Ronnie, whom I love, it is so nice to see him playing a living character considering my current obsession with A Million Little Things.
I want a spinoff movie of just Joshua Pak as Dallas, the awkward private school worker who is very afraid of Marlo. He gave me the biggest laugh of the movie.
In terms of title drops, the movie is named after a character, so it is hard to celebrate the multiple drops, but there is a Pinky and the Brain shout out so I count that as a big win!
Quick Hits:
How many times have I seen this movie?
First time!
Where was I watching it?
In my home office, doing real work, and not playing video games for once.
Did Kellye Watch it? If Yes, did she like it? If no, would she like it?
Kellye did not watch it, and when I told her the surprise ending because she was never going to watch it, she did not seem phased and said it was lame. But whatevs. She would have spent the whole movie telling me to take notes about what its like to have a kid, saying “you see?!” a lot, and also would have been angry at Ronnie L playing video games so often… Maybe it’s best she didn’t watch it.
Favorite fact I learned from Wikipedia
Jason Reitman directed the “Frame Toby” episode of The Office, which makes me like him more.
Favorite part
When Dallas does everything in his power to let Marlo through the doorway without touching her.
Least favorite part
Marlo and Tully leaving the baby alone with Ron Ron without letting him know gave me so much anxiety.
Would I recommend this movie and why?
I would! A great thespian is at the height of her talents! It is a quick movie too, with a satisfying ending. Give it a shot.
So What Does Allan Give It?
One Gold Thumbs Up! Overall, a score of 74. I enjoyed it, and I love Ron Livingston.
