To be honest, the premise of JUST ONE MORE KISS (Indican Pictures, 2019)--the ghost of a woman's recently-deceased husband appears to her and tries to help her withstand the tragedy of their prematurely aborted love--sounded like a gateway straight into chick-flick hell.
Which only made it that much more of a pleasant surprise to find myself watching one of the most thoroughly engaging movies I've seen this year.
True, the first ten minutes or so subject us to the double whammy of (a) painfully uncomfortable social awkwardness when friend Barry gets obnoxiously drunk and makes a fool of himself at Max (Patrick Zeller) and Abby's tenth anniversary party, so Max has to drive him home, and (b) sudden unbearable tragedy of jarringly maudlin proportions when Max gets killed in an auto accident while driving Barry home.
Seems like this is going to be a tough and emotionally manipulative slog as Abby flees to the country cabin she and Max used to share, eschewing any attempts by loved ones to comfort her and rebuffing anyone who tries to befriend her in her new surroundings.
And when Max's ghost starts to appear to her, we get the unpleasant feeling that we're about to see a rehash of GHOST with a dash of THE SIXTH SENSE.
However, just when things are looking really bleak, something unexpected happens--writer-director Faleena Hopkins (who also plays Abby) sidesteps all of that predictable stuff and starts delving into some really interesting emotional and metaphysical territory. This is especially true when Abby stumbles over the edge of a cliff and the incorporeal Max can't do a thing to help her as she hangs on for dear life.
She also explores the more playful aspects of the situation such as Abby seemingly talking to herself while onlookers look on in concern, and Max reacting with a bit of old-fashioned jealousy when a local bachelor takes an interest in Abby.
But that's nothing compared to what happens when Abby's sister Lorna (Emily Bennett) and the now-sober Barry (Joe Barbagallo) show up at Abby's doorstep to implore her to forgive Barry for being indirectly responsible for Max's death, and to urge her to let Max go and get on with her life. How will Abby react to this? What's more, how will Max react to it as he stands by observing it all unseen?
It was at this point that I realized that I was not only tolerating JUST ONE MORE KISS, but voraciously devouring it. Faleena Hopkins has done a masterful job not only putting this keenly enjoyable film together but also giving a fine lead performance.
Bennett and Joe Barbagallo as Lorna and Barry are stunningly good in their emotionally resonant scenes, as are Frances Mitchell and Erik Parillo as Max's long-suffering parents (and, of course, Patrick Zeller as Max himself), and when they delve deep into Hopkins' rich dialogue it hits hard. The story builds to a wrenching conclusion that really pays off.
JUST ONE MORE KISS wallows not in maudlin sentiment and a by-the-numbers plot but in love, loss, guilt, forgiveness, suicidal thoughts, and spiritual uncertainty. Not only is it not a rip-off of GHOST, I actually think it's way more interesting, and one of the best true-blue chick flicks I've ever seen.
Buy it from Indican Pictures
TECH SPECS
Runtime: 91 minutes
Format: 1:78 HD
Sound: Dolby Sr.
Country: USA
Language: English
Rating: Pending
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