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Chasing Dreams, Friendships, Heartbreak, ... and Letting Go?
- Jhanya&Ria's Corner
- May 1, 2021
- 7 min read
“You can’t have a good relationship because you’re constantly mourning the last one.” – Nadine (Phillipa Soo)
The Broken Hearts Gallery
PG-13
10 September 2020 (US)
1h 49min
Available on Netflix, Youtube Movies, & Google Play
Directed & Written by Natalie Krinsky
Starring Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Bernadette Peters
Synopsis:
Lucy is devastated after her boyfriend breaks up with her. But when she meets Nick, a hotelier, she decides to create a gallery where people can leave memorabilia from their past relationships.
The Broken Hearts Gallery is a 2020 romantic comedy film. It follows Lucy, a 20-something lady who gets dumped by her latest boyfriend, Max, in New York City. This moves her to create an art gallery to display items from people’s previous relationships. She also meets Nick, an aspiring hotelier along the way. This film tackles chasing your dream, heartbreak, friendship, and most importantly, letting go and moving on.
Disclaimer: sexual themes and foul language
Jhanya: First, let’s talk about what we didn't like, to get the reactions out of the way. This movie had both a rough start and end, to be honest. At the start, Lucy isn’t the most likable person on the planet. Her decisions are somewhat questionable, and her personality is all over the place. Without Nadine and Amanda, her two best friends, I highly doubt that Lucy would’ve survived living in New York all alone. It also doesn’t help that we don’t really know much about Lucy’s character at the start. Other than that she is a hopeless romantic that loves to hoard and she talks with someone on the phone from time to time about her life, Lucy was just someone who had her heartbroken.
In the end, however, there was a serious lack of character development on Nick’s part. Sure, Lucy visibly grows as a person, but Nick was very lacking as a character. I understand that the movie centers on Lucy, but Nick remains as the broke, aspiring hotelier that relies on his friends to start his hotel throughout the film. Even his moment of “realization” was cut short. I don’t wanna say anything more than that because it might be too much of a turnoff or spoiler, and you might stop reading now if I say any more LOL
Ria: What I really really disliked about this movie is the actions of the female main character, Lucy around the start of the movie. I completely understand that she was cheated on by her boyfriend in their art gallery opening, but she just made a fool out of herself in front of everyone. And yes, her drunkenness probably affected that too. This leads me to my second dislike. Why did she drink at a work party? She is technically still working and her drinking is not professional.
I also don’t quite like Nick’s personality and character development. And although I understand that he is the character that is to be changed by Lucy’s personality, I don’t particularly see it. Only the short realization at the end, otherwise, he pretty much stayed the same throughout the film.
However, there are quite a few redeeming qualities.
Jhanya: Lucy, Nadine, and Amanda's friendship has to be one of the best cinema friend groups in a while. It felt right, it felt natural, and it was a very good dynamic of characters (kudos to the screenwriters). Every time they were together in a scene, they definitely stole the show and will never fail to make you smile at one point. Being friends for years, ever since high school, they really know how to deal with one another, especially with Lucy, who regularly gets her heartbroken. They even have a routine where the moment Lucy comes home in tears, all of them (including Jeff) get into action to make sure Lucy has everything (tissues, food, drinks, etc.) in reach and know that they are there to support her (this part was just absolute friendship goals, I swear). Nadine and Amanda would even go as far as openly threatening Max and Nick if they break Lucy’s heart or hurt her again. Shoutout also to Jeff (Amanda’s partner) for being a silent, but intriguing and supportive character throughout the movie.
Ria: First, I love Lucy’s best friends. Nadine and Amanda (even Jeff) were such awesome friends. They were very supportive in their unique way and helped Lucy in whatever she was facing – her first break-up, her starting the Broken Heart Gallery, her riff with Nick, and many more. The dynamic of three is something I’m envious of. They’ve been best friends since high school, throughout college, and even when they are starting their careers. They know every single thing about each other and have a bond that can never be broken. One of my favorite scenes was when they tormented both Max and then Nick when they broke Lucy’s heart. That’s a sign of a true friend!!
Second! Lucy’s character development. Lucy has a habit of clinging to objects that represent her past relationships making her (kind of) like a hoarder. Her room is filled with so many unnecessary things that she’s gotten from past relationships that most of them are trash. This whole film, I believe, focuses on Lucy learning how to take what she’s learned from one relationship, move on, and let go. Her clinging to past memoirs shows the toxicity of not being able to let go. One of my favorite scenes was right after her conversation with Eva Woolf. She finally realizes how she has kept herself caged in her past relationships and decides to throw away all that she’s kept. At the end of the scene, she lies down on her bed with her two best friends and smiles. This scene really stuck with me as it starts a new chapter of Lucy’s life. A chapter where she stops clinging to the past and instead focuses on the present and looks forward to the past. The scene also shows the support her friends shower her with. This has got to be the best part of the film.
Third, Lucy’s positive personality. Lucy is determined to finish what she started, to see the Broken Heart Gallery become a reality. Her hardworking persona, determination, and optimism are a great encouragement to everyone. Her personality is something I actually would like to have also. She’s like the bright sun around people, maybe also helping the people around her.
Jhanea: Even though Lucy was annoying at the start, her growth throughout the film is one of the film’s redeeming qualities. Going from a hopeless romantic hoarder to simply be a hopeless romantic was a nice development. How she also remained her quirky and energetic self despite all the troubles, challenges, and Nick’s negativity throughout the film, is very charming from a viewer’s perspective and personality, something I aspire to be. To be honest, I saw her relationship with Nick as more of a close friendship, rather than something romantic. They were great together on screen and had chemistry, but I didn’t get many romantic vibes. I’m not exactly sure why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that Nick remained a mysterious character throughout the film. Like, nothing really changed about him, from what I saw. Sure, Lucy made him more open to others and accepted the fact that he has to try something new in order to save his still-in-construction hotel, but character growth-wise? I didn’t really see it if there ever was. Maybe what he did at the end was some sort of growth, but to be honest, it was so rushed near the end that if it was, it is pretty meh. Being in a movie that is all about letting go of the past, Nick didn’t really do so.
On a technical note though, this film did pretty well. The color palette and filter, which had a kind of grimy and a garage feel, used throughout the film fits its vibe and theme. The old film montages similar to those in When Harry Met Sally also fit well and were a creative way to show how time passed in the story. The montage scenes are one of my favorite parts and definitely have nothing to do with When Harry Met Sally being one of my favorite films of all time :P. The story was also realistic, in a way that the characters have pretty normal lives and life struggles throughout the film, and it showed the hustle and bustle of New York in most scenes. The music and soundtrack used like Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John with Kiki Dee) also fit the story and scenes they played in well and often brought more energy and girl power.
Ria: The in-between montages of the people who are donating to the Broken Heart Gallery also served as really good transitions and show that time is passing and how the Gallery is coming together. I also quite liked the soundtrack of the movie. Each background song contributed something to the scene in which it was playing at.
Overall, in my opinion, this movie is alright. It has good morale, teaches a good lesson, and tackles many realistic issues adults face. I just think that because I got put off at the beginning of the film, it felt as if I was just pushing myself to finish it. And despite its redeeming qualities, I wouldn’t say it is something that I would rewatch.
Jhanya: As the person who recommended this movie to be reviewed, of course, I like the film. I’ve even watched it twice before watching it again for this review. And yes, I agree that it isn’t the best film to come out ever, but it has a lot of touching moments, good relationship lessons to learn overall, and showcases one of the best cinema friendship groups to come out as of late. It isn’t perfect, and as mentioned above, it has a few rough patches here and there, but it was a good movie that came out in one of the worst years in human history, so yeah, I like it. The Broken Hearts Gallery is a pretty chill film, and the type of film I would watch if I was bored and saw it while I was scrolling through Netflix.
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