ATypical Wednesday is an endearing, funny, and topical film with star-making turns for actor/writer/director J Lee and Emmy Raver-Lampman. J Lee plays Gabe, a well-meaning personal trainer whose feeling hollow after being objectified at work and a string of meaningless relationships. He's at a crossroads but has help from a patient therapist who sees through his BS and that he's not being really honest with himself. The story gets going when Gabe meets a lost kid outside his therapist's office and decides to do a good deed by giving him a ride home. The kid is played believably and earnestly by Cooper J Friedman. The ride home becomes a lot more complicated as Gabe's life begins to fall apart further and he becomes subject to a full blown anxiety attack. Eventually he learns that the kid may have his own serious mental issues and problems that are worse than his own. Gabe gains perspective from their day together and by finally being being honest with himself, he's able to make the key choices that were the root cause of his distress and problems. This movie rises above the traps of most indie comedies with thoughtful, engaging, and original characters and phenomenal acting by the lead actors. It was refreshing to not have to endure endless strings of weird/eccentric side characters for the lead actors to make bewildered faces at that's become the cliche of so many indie comedy films. This movie has more on its mind and a more important message to get across, but it manages to find the right tone and not get mired in too much light-heartedness or overly preachy messaging. Well worth the watch!
