Dakota Johnson is asking herself, “Am I OK?”—a question that we have all asked ourselves at some point.
The aptly named film, which debuted at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, stars Johnson. Tig Notaro co-directs from a semi-autobiographical script by Lauren Pomerantz, her spouse and fellow comic Stephanie Allynne.
Johnson plays Lucy, a thirtysomething who discovers she is a lesbian at the same time that her best friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) says she is relocating from Los Angeles to London for a job. After her life is turned upside down, Lucy finds herself alone and navigating a gay dating pool without Jane’s support system.
Along with co-director Notaro, Jermaine Fowler, Kiersey Clemons, Molly Gordon, and Sean Hayes star.
“Am I OK?”‘s screenwriter Pomerantz said to Entertainment Weekly that it started out as a “friendship movie” based on her real best friend Jessica Elbaum, who also serves as the film’s producer. Instead, the picture turned into a coming-out dramedy.
Pomerantz stated, “I really based it on a real-life friendship with my best friend Jessica [Elbaum], who is also a producer on this movie. I took my whole coming out late story and used that.” “I originally intended for it to be a friendship film, based on our bond. After a really heated argument, we were able to get along again, but in the meantime, I was having a hard time coming out. I then understood that was the tale I truly wanted to convey.
Johnson’s “very charming comedic turn” was praised as the movie’s high point in the IndieWire review.
Despite the fact that Lucy’s journey—coming to terms with one’s sexuality beyond the typical coming-of-age story—is difficult, Johnson manages to make Lucy likeable, grounded, and a character you can’t help but root for, according to critic Kate Erbland. Dakota Johnson is a fantastic on-screen crier. “Johnson is aces at this open-hearted comedy stuff, just as appealing when she’s falling off a bed to literally avoid a man as she is repeatedly sobbing over the state of her life.” “Am I OK?” eloquently celebrates the value of great female friendships while acknowledging a crucial truth: Having a best friend who loves you unconditionally is actually just half the fight if you don’t like who you are.
“Am I all right?” debuts on Max on June 6
