Band Aid (****)

"The secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow." At least that's what Mark Twain thought.  The most effective jokes seem often rooted in a deeper sadness; jokes that work to mask the pain of the teller. It's easier to make people laugh. So it goes with "Band Aid," a surprising new comedy from Zoe Lister-Jones (the director, writer, song-writer, and star). On the surface this is a traditional romantic comedy about two people falling in and out of love, but there's so much more at play.

Anna (Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) are a young married couple living in Los Angeles. Unlike most of their friends who now have "adult" careers and newborns, they work the odd job here and there and smoke pot recreationally. They joke about their financial predicaments and argue about miscellaneous issues like dirty dishes and a leaky faucet. The first scene establishes the way our characters will interact: quick dialogue and pointed humor. There is chemistry that works well in the film, both as romantic characters and simply as actors. It's fun to watch these two talk.

 They seek help from a therapist who we discover later has been sought out for more than just the everyday argument. We have the cliched scene in which the two sit on opposite sides of a couch while talking over each other. The scene ends with the stressed out therapist declaring she is moving to Canada. In a moment of pure inspiration that is one of the few scenes that feels 'overwritten,' Anna comes to the brilliant conclusion that they should put their arguments to song. Each has played guitar in their past and after dusting off the strings and setting up a garage band, they find out they're not too bad at composition.

The songs they compose are without doubt the highlights of the film, funny rhymes with catchy tunes. With each new song the two laugh and hug, happy to have worked together and unaware that they have only glossed over the deeper issues at hand. The other high point comes with the introduction of their neighbor, Dave (played by a funny Fred Armisen). He is your typical creepy neighbor next door but offers his services on drums after hearing the couple playing through his walls.

The movie speaks to generational issues that feel so relevant now. Not just broad issues like student loans and lack of job opportunities, but awkward interactions with Uber drivers and the absurdity found in baby names. There are a lot of laughs in the film that will keep audiences rolling, but even at times the film goes too far into it's own fantasy. Dave, the neighbor, reveals he is a recovering sex addict and has "cocoa Tuesdays" at his place with retired strippers. It's a completely different brand of humor that, while funny, felt out of place in such a grounded story.

Zoe Lister-Jones is the highlight of the film and brings to it a depth that I hadn't expected from such a quaint movie. While her screenplay it at times a bit too formulaic, the story is nonetheless entertaining and charming in its own unique way. You wouldn't be too surprised to learn it has a happy ending, as it should, but it left many questions unanswered that I would have assumed we should find out. Do Anna and Ben land a record deal, or are they doomed to continue their lives in a jobless mediocrity? Do they end up trying to have a child? Is there a way to write an actual love song that isn't corny? I suppose movies don't need to answer all the questions that they pose, but that's praise to the filmmaker for making me want to find out what happened to these characters. They're that interesting.