For Worse

"For Worse" is a gentle middle-aged rom-com that deliberately lowers expectations even as it faithfully hits all the genre beats. It’s an approach designed to charm without dazzling, and at that it succeeds admirably.

Life after divorce can indeed be awkward, perplexing and frustrating for the newly single. However, despite the challenges that come with such adjustments, there’s no reason to think that most otherwise-well-adjusted adults won’t be able to adapt, that they won’t be routinely subjected to exasperating humiliations and ongoing faux pas. Unfortunately, that’s precisely the problem that plagues the debut feature from actress-writer-director Amy Landecker, an underdeveloped, tonally inconsistent romantic comedy that becomes as exasperating for viewers as it does to its beleaguered protagonist. When Lauren (Landecker) divorces her husband (Paul Adelstein), she looks forward to a clean slate to start over, despite having not been on her own for some time. However, once she finds herself in those circumstances, she becomes perpetually befuddled about how to behave and react on numerous fronts, such as when it comes to getting back into the dating scene, maintaining a solid relationship with her young daughter (Chloe Cleary) and availing herself of new opportunities for a fresh start in her life, such as participating in an acting class for which she recently signed up. She essentially becomes the walking embodiment of being all thumbs, something that appears not to have been in place while she was married but that has clearly come to characterize herself as a new divorcee. It’s hard to believe that she would suddenly and foolishly fall prey to a series of ludicrous life events (some of them clichéd, others utterly preposterous, and most of which try too hard and aren’t the least bit funny), all stitched together in a meandering patchwork episodic narrative. These incidents eventually culminate in Lauren’s attendance at a same-sex destination wedding with one of her acting class peers, Sean (Nico Hiraga), a handsome young potential romantic prospect who has strong but ambivalent feelings toward her. As expected, though, the reception turns out to be an unmitigated disaster despite Lauren’s encounter with a fellow divorcee, Dave (Bradley Whitford), a cranky midlifer whose bark proves to be worse than his bite, a story thread that helps to turn the film in a more promising direction. But that plot device doesn’t show up until an hour into this 90-minute offering, and, by that point, the filmmaker has essentially lost control of the room. That’s a shame, given that Landecker shows directorial and storytelling aptitude in this part of the picture, but this release needs so much work in what precedes it that this accomplishment is vastly overshadowed. The film’s many shortcomings are also unfortunate for the members of the fine cast assembled here, especially in the supporting performances of Missi Pyle, Gaby Hoffmann, Simon Helberg and Spencer Stevenson, all of whom are essentially relegated to glorified walk-ons or characters thanklessly charged with trying to shore up a seriously sagging story. Sadly, Landecker’s filmmaking debut is a disappointing effort, but, as someone who clearly possesses tremendous talents as an actress (as seen here and in other works, such as “A Serious Man” (2009)), we can only hope that she rises to the occasion as a writer and director on future efforts where she can show us what she’s truly capable of.