Sweet Parents Review: A Sweet and Bitter Comedy Drama That Will Leave You Fulfilled

Release date: November 24, 2020 (Digital)
Running time: 112 minutes
Starring: Leah Rudick, David Bly, Casey Biggs, Barbara Weetman
Directed By: David Bly
Written By: David Bly, Leah Rudick

The relationship between an aspiring sculptor Gabby (Rudick) and a struggling chef Will (Bly) in New York is tested when they become entangled with wealthy older benefactors, or "Sweet Parents", to further their careers.

Sweet Parents is a complicated, layered movie that goes through many phases.  Initially, the movie has a fantastic dry sense of humor that is perfectly showcased in the couple's apartment search.  There are some wonderful jokes and unspoken funny parts that really set the stage for this movie.  And early on, the film highlights the two main characters and their troubles.  Writers and stars Leah Rudick and David Bly (who also directed) are transformative as Gabby and Will, two talented but struggling young people in the midst of their required penance in New York hoping to make it in traditionally difficult careers: Gabby as an artist and Will as a chef.  Rudick and Bly know these characters and completely personify the two individuals.  You can tell that there is some personal struggle infused into this film as it effortlesslhy and poignantly comes through in the story.  And hopefully, whatever struggles that Rudick and Bly have already endured in making this movie pay off because Sweet Parents is a wonderful gem.  Like their on screen counterparts, Bly and Rudick are very talented and showcase their talents for all to see.  The writing is clever and tight, with plenty told to the viewer but enough left unspoken that the pair are not spoon feeding their audience.  Like a wonderful meal, everything is presented for the audience to taste and savor throughout the film. 

Sweet Parents is much better than I ever expected it to be, and much more nuanced and complex of a story than I initially thought it would have.  The movie deals in gray areas, and tries to find some of the space between black and white, right and wrong.  But it also highlights something that is a common theme of discussion in our world today: how hard it is for young people to succeed when it often seems that life is has already priced them out and written them off long before.  The film explores the depths that one can go to to succeed; how far you would go to pursue your drams, and at what cost.  And it also highlights a way to redistribute wealth from a generation that valued work and success over love and family.  It is a lesson that only really hits you later in the movie, but it is a powerful one to include in this drama comedy.

And although the movie starts off as a comedy, it definitely shifts into a drama as the themes in the film become more serious and slightly darker.  Like a good meal that starts off with a light appetizer before moving to the heavy course, or a sculptor that chips away large chunks at first to then focus on the details, the movie has a subtle shift that sneaks up on you but has you wholly engrossed when you finally notice it.  And this includes some very awkward scenes in the middle and a relatively abrupt character shift in one of them part way through.  But after all of this you will leave fulfilled after a meal that effortlessly mixes sweet and bitter.

Sweet Parents will start you off with its sweet comedy, before moving onto a darker, meatier drama that tackles relevant themes and showcases two very talented actors and writers. 

Watch it.

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Sweet Parents is available digitally and on demand November 24, 2020.

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