Life Upside Down Parent Guide

Jonathan Wigglesworth (Bob Odenkirk) is a celebrated artist, displaying his latest paintings and discreetly making out with his mistress, Clarissa Cranes (Radha Mitchell), in the back room of his gallery. She has, he says, “brought him back to life”. Then the Covid-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, the US goes into lockdown, and Jonathan and Clarissa are forced to take stock of their lives and choices.

As Jonathan and Clarissa are physically separated during lockdown, Paul Haselberg (Danny Huston) and his wife, Rita (Rosie Fellner) , are pushed into closer contact. Paul works on his newest book, argues with his publisher, and spouts quotes to his much less erudite wife, who goes jogging and experiments with new recipes – and a side relationship. When Paul glimpses her extra-curricular activities, he reassesses his own attitudes and behaviors.

Director Cecilia Miniucchi deserves credit for coming up with a film that gives all four main characters the opportunity to grow. For Jonathan, Clarissa, Paul, and Rita, the covid lockdown of March 2020 puts their lives under a microscope and they learn from the experience, weigh their priorities, and consider their futures. Normally, I would be raving about a movie that highlights character development in adults but, strangely, Life Upside Down is deadly dull.

I can’t even tell you why I found the film so boring. The actors are capable, although Danny Huston feels stiff at times. Perhaps their pretensions make them unrelatable? Or maybe the ennui of the time seeps off the screen? Whatever it is, I lasted 15 minutes before I started checking the time and I kept clicking my phone every ten minutes until the end. It could be that I’m just having a bad day and other viewers will be charmed by the characters in this film, but I’m not holding my breath.

If the threat of boredom doesn’t deter you, I can say that this unrated movie’s negative content comes in at a “soft R” rating. Adultery is a major plot point and people talk about sex a fair bit. There’s also a scene of marital sex without nudity. The three sexual expletives push the movie into Restricted territory but the overall swear count is fairly low. As adult romantic dramas go, there’s not an excessive amount of negative material – but there isn’t a whole lot going for it either. Maybe in twenty years Life Upside Down will offer an interesting look at a distinctive historical moment but for now it just brings back bad memories without much entertainment value.