Together | A Screenwriters Perspective: Current and Past Movies.

The standout issue with the new horror movie “Together” is that its premise and special effects represent a brand-new idea that has never been done before in a film.

A married couple, Tim and Millie, played by real-life couple Dave Franco and Allison Brie, move to the country and on a hiking trip find themselves infected by supernatural water, which tries to physically connect them together.

The remainder of this movie is about conflicts in Tim and Millie’s relationship and horrific scenes where the two of them are like magnets trying to pull themselves apart from each other. There is a side story where another teacher in the school where Millie teaches is familiar with this water and videos are seen of ceremonies where this teacher is trying to bond with his partner, who it seems, passed away some time ago. For this part of the story, not enough is explained, suggesting that perhaps these people are aliens who might have infected the area with this body-bonding water. In the end, we never find out the origin of this supernatural water.

There are the typical gross-out scenes that are common with physical horror movies like this one; most are well done, especially when they show the combining of body parts. The ending was no surprise, and overall, I give this movie a very mild recommendation only because of some of the originality.

The Rotten Tomatoes rating of 94% is way too high, with my rating around 75% and small thumbs up.

On a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher”, he mentioned the statistic that the single population of the United States has doubled in the last 50 years. This amazing statistic is based on the misery index of the millions who have gotten married and divorced, currently 53% for first marriages and 70% for second. Studies have shown the getting married and staying married is responsible for longer lives and more happiness – but we all know what happens when things, just don’t work out. Bill Maher is 65 years old and has never been married and more importantly, doesn’t care if he ever gets married and never wants kids. There is nothing wrong with this decision, when you consider the downside of divorce, child support, legal bills and even living in your car. The statistics show that the single percentage of the populations of the United States is now the fastest growing demographic. Trends are changing and for good reason.

The new movie “Together Together” is about a man in his late 40’s named Matt, played by Ed Helms – who through no fault of his own, never found the right woman to marry. Despite this he still wants to have children, and he turns to the help of a surrogate named Anna, played by Patti Harrison to give birth to his child. Most movies I have seen about surrogates always involve a woman who cannot have a child, this is the first one I have seen involving a man. This movie is unusual because it shows in a very subtle way how the relationship between Anna and Matt changes over time into a strong friendship, despite their 20+ year age difference. They visit the obstetrician together and discuss plans for the future, while slowly learning about what each of them has gone through in their lives. There is a good bit of humor in this story, most of which works and I thought the acting and directing was well done.

The Rotten Tomatoes review for this film is a bit too high in my opinion – around 93%. I give this movie about an 80% and do recommend it.