‘Every Day’
Director: Michael Sucsy
Starring: Angourie Rice, Justice Smith
Rating: PG-13
3 (Out Of 5) Globes
Plot: Based on David Levithan’s New York Times bestseller, “Every Day” revolves around 16-year-old high schooler Rhiannon, who has a cocky boyfriend named Justin (Justice Smith).
Two very different people, Rhiannon and Justin suddenly share a wonderful day together, only for Justin to insist he has no recollection of it when they next meet. Instead, Justin was embodied by a spirit named A, a traveling soul that wakes up in a different body every morning and then lives their life for the next day.
Having bonded, Rhiannon and A start to spend more and more time together. And even though he turns up as a different person every day, they grow closer and closer.
Review: It took me a long time to get into “Every Day.”
My main gripe was that the high school students were just too good. So much so I spent most of my time openly dismissing and even laughing at what was on screen as I recollected how foolish and childish I was at that age.
Not only were they self-aware, deep, funny, cool, but not so cool that they were annoying, preposterously intelligent, and, for the most part, empathetic, but they seemingly had the wisdom and confidence of their elders, too.
I get why A is so perfect, as he has been transferred into a different body every day of his life, an experience that would add years to any soul. But it didn’t sit with me that Rhiannon, Alexander, and various other characters were equally as impressive. I ultimately would though.
Because, over time, I found myself being won over by “Every Day.” Angourie Rice’s performance as Rhiannon started to resonate, and while the film took the precise path you expected it to, it handled the machinations and emotion of the characters and A’s plight in a careful and touching fashion.
Sure it occasionally verged into cheesy melodrama. But that obviously worked because by its end a few tears of my own had snuck out, as I realized we had seen Rhiannon grow from a teenager to a woman. I’d even slightly forgiven the film for its impeccable high schoolers, too, as it fit in with its message of tolerance and openness.
Clearly, having despised its characters for long periods, I’m not the intended audience or even generation for “Every Day.” But if it still managed to make a bitter, jaded adult like me weep, then just imagine the impact that it could have on younger viewers.
