‘The Greatest Hits’ Review: Music Makes the Heart Go ’Round in Clunky Remix of Better Rom-Coms
16.03.2024 - 00:39
/ variety.com
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Music has an almost magical way of transporting us back to the moment in our lives when we heard it: the pop song that underscored your first kiss, the one that played at your graduation and so on. In mopey, dopey YA weepie “The Greatest Hits,” writer-director Ned Benson takes that idea as literally as possible, treating specific tunes as triggers that launch Harriet (Lucy Boynton) back into her past, blowing her away — like that seated guy in the classic Maxell campaign — into the tragic former relationship with hunky Max (square-jawed future Superman, David Corenswet), who died in a car crash.
Sounds romantic, right? Actually, Harriet’s condition is kind of a drag, as she’d like to move on, but must now go through life wearing noise-cancelling headphones and curating playlists with only “safe” songs (those with zero nostalgic potential). Music matters to Harriet, who worked in the industry — turns out Max was something of an indie rocker, while she mixed his album.
Since the incident, she can no longer risk the rollercoaster that hearing the wrong song might launch, so she’s taken a job at the library (it’s quiet, get it?). It all seems like a lot of effort just to make this high-concept premise work, with certain details — like, how Harriet can hear conversations when her hearing is muffled — left maddeningly unexplained.
You’d also think she’d be a bit more careful behind the wheel after surviving a deadly car accident. This is a love story; it’s not meant to be logical.
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