The Get Together (2020 | USA | 74 minutes | Will Bakke)
The Get Together is from a genre I love but don’t see all that often anymore: interlocking stories with different characters who are brought together only by chance being in the same place at the same time. In this instance, it’s a wild house party in Austin. And it belies a sweet, coming-of-age film along the way.
In the first part (literally called Part One), August (Courtney Parchman) senses that her best friend and roommate McCall is drifting away from her and hanging out with other friends. McCall has plans to with one of her cooler friends while August has another night of rideshare driving ahead of her. McCall ends up at a big party. By chance, the driver she picks up wants to be dropped off at the same party McCall is at. He’s Caleb, played by the musician better known as Shakey Graves and formally known as Alejandro Rose-Garcia. He’s a musician here, too, but he is starting to feel like his band’s days are becoming numbered.
Feeling sorry for her, Caleb invites August into the party, but she declines, until she realizes he left his phone in her Prius. A game of beer pong later and all of the issues McCall and August were avoiding come all out into the open.
In the second part, a couple, Betsy (Johanna Braddy) and Damian (“GLEE’”s Jacob Artist) are dining out when one of their former classmates is their server (he’s basically Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High). He invites Betsy and Damian to the same party. Betsy’s game but Damian has other plans. Namely, he wants to propose to her. Damian is wound pretty tightly and he has their evening planned out. At the party, all of his plans go sideways fast and his perfect evening is ruined. I don’t want to reveal any of his mishaps, but they’re an exercise in pathos.
Did I mention that Caleb is still in love with his ex, Betsy? Aye carumba.
I don’t think I’m giving away too much because the joy of the movie is watching the stories play out and the dramas resolve themselves, while generating several laughs along the way. It’s a fun movie. I liked it. It’s not groundbreaking (and doesn’t pretend to be), it’s just good.
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The Get Together can be rented through the usual VOD services, and purchased through iTunes.