FIND ME FALLING (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Stelana Kliris
Starring: Harry Connick Jr., Agni Scott, Ali Fumiko Whitney, Clarence Smith
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Writer: Stelana Kliris
Runtime: 93 min
Rated: TV-MA
Buy This Movie: Netflix

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Synopsis:

After a failed comeback album, a rock star retreats to a cliffside home on Cyprus, only to find his new life complicated by visitors, and an old flame.

Review:

Singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. makes his return to acting in Netflix's rom-com "Find Me Falling", in which he plays a washed-out rock star who decides to escape the hectic showbusiness life and move to Cyprus. He soon discovers that the house he bought on top of a cliff is actually a popular suicide hotspot, shattering his hopes for a quiet, off-the-grid retreat. On top of it all, an old flame (Agni Scott) reenters his life with some unexpected revelations that will forever change his life.

The film marks the feature writing/directorial debut of South African-Cypriot filmmaker Stelana Kliris. The movie is billed as the first ever Cypriot feature to stream worldwide on Netflix, which seems to be the movie's only claim to fame, since everything else about it is as generic as it gets. Mixing culture clash comedy, romance and a tourist showcase for Cyprus, it's predictable, corny, flat, and not particularly creative.

At the very least, the main players are likable enough to keep you watching, and the supporting cast is quite funny. While Kliris is not afraid to tackle some dark issues, it never gets to any deep levels of poignancy, staying breezy and lighthearted throughout. Although there's a lot of music and singing from both Connick Jr. and newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney, there's a sense of emotional numbness permeating the entire movie, especially with the film's title song, which carries its central theme and is an important part of the plot. It should have been a banger, but it's curiously banal and forgettable.

It's hard to be too critical of a movie like "Find Me Falling", which is perfectly content with being an unambitious, saccharine Hallmark/Lifetime-style rom-com. It isn't likely to stand out against a vast ocean of similar fare, but it's harmless entertainment, definitely not the worst I've ever seen, with a decent cast and an overall feel-good vibe that won't change cinema but it might just turn a frown upside down.

SCORE: 6/10