We start — why not? — with a veggie burger. Lucy (Dakota Johnson) and Jane (Sonoya Mizuno), besties in their 30s, have been so close for so long that when they meet at the diner, Jane can just recite Lucy’s regular order: Veggie burger and sweet potato fries. And so when, late into Lucy goes rogue and orders a tomato and spinach omelet, there’s a look of subtle hurt that flits across Jane’s face.
It seems silly — it was just a veggie burger — but to Jane it signifies something familiar and comforting that’s now gone. There are similarly sweet, subtle touches peppered through this debut directorial effort by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne — touches that land much better than the occasional attempts at broad humor that feel forced, or at least like a different movie (for example, the dialogue given to Jane’s boss, played by Sean Hayes). And of course, there’s Johnson herself, the obvious focus of the lingering camera throughout, and for good reason: her always-winning authenticity, shining through in film after film even at times when the material around her feels thin.
The story here is simple and heartfelt. It’s a coming-out tale, but with the twist that the person coming out is 32, a decade (or even two) later than in most stories we see. This particular story belongs to the film’s writer, Lauren Pomerantz, who came out when she was 34.
Her closeness to the proceedings is evident in a few startlingly poignant moments — for example, the pain that.