On the Count of Three - Review

 

This review discusses subject matter related to mental health and suicide. If you or a loved one is in crisis, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or the Crisis Text Line (Text TALK to 741741) to talk to someone who can help.

The world can be an absolutely brutal place sometimes, and the directorial debut from Jerrod Carmichael (“The Carmichael Show,” “Rothaniel”) doesn’t argue against that. A brutal worldview can lead to some extremely dark comedy, and “On the Count of Three (2022)” is one of the bleakest, darkest comedies in recent memory. But it has that big, juicy, beating heart at the center of it all that makes it all work so, so well.

Directed by Carmichael and written by Ari Katcher (“Ramy,” “The Carmichael Show”) and Ryan Welch (“Ramy”), the film follows Christopher Abbott (“Black Bear,” “Catch-22 (2019)”) as Val and Carmichael as Kevin, with Kevin breaking Val out of a psychiatric facility days after a suicide attempt so that the pair can have one last day together before committing suicide together. It’s a dark story that never pulls any punches or cutely dances around its central themes. It works so well because of the incredibly believable love and friendship between Kevin and Val. Their lifelong friendship is so palpable and heartrending because of that genuine feeling of comfort and love between them.

The support cast is also great, but none have a huge amount of screen time to work with. Tiffany Haddish (“Girls Trip,” “Tuca and Bertie”) plays Kevin’s girlfriend and makes the most of her one major scene, Henry Winkler (“Barry,” “Scream (1996)”) and J.B. Smoove (“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood”) are both incredibly funny and also terrifying in equal, distinct measures, and Lavell Crawford (“Breaking Bad,” “The Ridiculous 6”) is fantastic for his brief, funny moments.

It’s impossible to discuss this film without talking about suicide, and such a heavy and potentially morbid subject is handled with the deftest of grace here. Carmichael doesn’t shy away from the material, self censoring or whispering taboo words. Instead, he presents it openly through these two beaten down men. It’s at times sickeningly funny to watch.

However, this simply won’t be to everyone’s tastes. It doesn’t transcend the uncomfortable feelings some might have while watching it, but those that do are given an emotionally honest, heartbreaking and funny portrait of friendship and the tragedies of life. Nothing here shys away from some extremely funny, patently absurdist moments. It’s a special bold kind of film that practically dares you to laugh at jokes and situations seemingly too horrific to joke about, simply because of the perspective of who’s doing the joking.

It’s the kind of stuff practically no indie studio would touch, much less the major ones. But it’s nevertheless incredibly engaging because of the very specific perspective and humor on display. It’s not every day you see a film that features an extended gag about hanging oneself within the first ten minutes. It can be extremely messy as well, there's material here that other films would spend their entire runtimes on that serves as merely a subplot. However, it's messy in an honest, human sort of way that adds to the vibes of the entire experience.

Thanks to the low budget and lack of any traditionally flashy film elements, this is the kind of film that feels less like a cinematic experience and more like just watching two friends. It feels like you're right alongside them, experiencing it all as it happens. There’s just a vibe to the atmosphere of it all, like a friend is recounting their day to you, adding in a ton of weird little details and asides. It’s like you’re viewing the film through a camcorder without actually doing so.

Genuinely, “On The Count of Three (2022)” feels like the weird, low budget kind of cinema we haven’t gotten in a while. It’s easy to see it compared to the likes of “Clerks” based purely on how shoestring it all feels, like everyone just decided to wake up one day and make a movie. Carmichael delivers a fantastic directorial debut as well as a top tier performance, easily matched by Abbott’s bizarre, heartbreaking work. It’s not for everyone, but it's clearly an honest film through and through, made from a place of love. 4/5