The Movie Guru: ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’ does too much, while ‘Good Fortune’ odd but exactly right
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (in theaters)
There are bits of a really interesting movie in “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
If that version had been allowed to flourish, it could have been the cinematic version of Springsteen’s album “Nebraska” – a powerful, stripped-down look at one man wrestling with his demons. You can see glimpses of that version of the movie, but “Deliver Me” crowds it out with too many unrelated stories. Some of those are interesting but just disconnected, while others feel too much like music biopic clichés, but in the end they contribute to the same problem. If you’re going to try something new, don’t dilute it by also doing what everyone else expects.
Based on Warren Zanes’ book “Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska,” the movie follows a risky creative period in the artist’s life. He’s on the verge of making it big, and the last thing his label wants is a dark folk album. Springsteen is also struggling with depression, as well as traumatic incidents from his childhood.
It’s possibly an odd choice for a movie, but fascinating if music development interests you. Jeremy Allen White does a great job at playing Springsteen, capturing his vibe and voice if not the physical form.
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But the flashbacks that should have been brief and haunting are pushed to the point they almost feel cheesy. The relationship with a woman that’s an amalgamation of several real-life women feels like a pointless excuse to check off the romance box. A separate plot where his manager (Jeremy Strong) tries to sell the album to management could be interesting on its own, but feels wildly disconnected from the main idea.
In the end, there’s some stuff worth watching. But there’s also too much that isn’t.
Grade: Two and a half stars
Good Fortune (in theaters)
It’s not exactly the comedy you might expect, but “Good Fortune” is unexpectedly lovely.
Though there’s definite humor in the movie, most of it comes from Keanu Reeves’ earnestly endearing performance as an angel who wants to do more. Aziz Ansari taps into almost uncomfortable realness as a young man desperately struggling to stay afloat in this economy. Rogen taps into that as well as a rich guy forced to experience the same desperation, never forgetting the character’s arrogance while also successfully dismantling it.
This is the rich/poor fantasy done with an almost aching understanding for anyone who’s struggling, and for most of the movie you’ll wince in sympathy as much as you’ll laugh. Even Reeves’ humor comes from his innocent approach to life, wide-eyed commentary that a lot of us have felt but never felt like we could say.
It also leads us to the hopeful message at the end, reminding us that life can be beautiful as long as we’re there for each other. It’s a warm, less chaotic riff on the themes of 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” with the added bonus of deeply relatable economic commentary.
Yes, it’s as strange an experience as it sounds. But it’s worth it.
Grade: Three and a half stars
Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at themovieguruslc@gmail.com.
