Search - Joshy [DVD + Digital] on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

Jeff Baena is an interesting director who makes lovely little movies. They're not all great, but they're never bad, and his accomplishments as a writer/director are inspiring to wannabes like myself. His offerings include "Life After Beth" (a spin on zombie movies), "Horse Girl" (a mild psychological character study), "Spin Me Round" (an excuse to take his cast to Italy), and my personal favorite, "The Little Hours" which I cannot praise highly enough.

Baena's sophomore work is 2016's "Joshy," starring (deep breath) Thomas Middleditch, Nick Kroll, Brett Gelman, Jenny Slate, Aubrey Plaza, Joe Swanberg, Alison Brie, Paul Reiser, and more. I list these folks out for two reasons: one, because they're all immensely talented and it's great to see them all in one movie, and two, because they all appear in most of Baena's movies. So, if you don't like them in one configuration, maybe you'll like them in another.

(Again, as a wannabe, I make an effort to use *different* actors in each short film that I shoot, give different folks a shot, spread the opportunity around. But I completely understand casting the same people over and over again in features. When you're spending 10-12 hours a day with people for 3-6 weeks at a stretch, you want to make sure they're people you like and can rely on.)

"Joshy" begins with a suicide. Joshy's (Middleditch) fiancee Rachel (Brie) suddenly hangs herself in their apartment. Joshy is heartbroken, of course, but he also has a remote cabin reserved for his bachelor party in four months that he either can't cancel or chooses not to. So, four months later, Joshy hosts a get-together with his friends Ari (Adam Pally), Adam (Alex Ross Perry, channeling Poindexter from Revenge of the Nerds), and Eric (Kroll). Subdued antics ensue, including meeting Eric's aggressively-funny friend Greg (Gelman) whose demeanor takes a turn when he learns about Rachel, and Jodi (Slate), a woman who can't seem to keep her keys or phone within eyesight and who develops a mutual crush on Ari, despite his being married.

Others soon show up - Aaron (Swanberg), who brings a well-intentioned reality check to the group. Adam meets Jen (Plaza) but makes a critical error in the name of couch maintenance. Eric decides to liven up the party by hiring strippers which gives Greg an emotional epiphany.

You spend the movie wondering when Joshy is going to blow up, and he does of course, and Middleditch does a pretty good job of selling it. But it's not overblown - Baena is wise enough to keep it simple, and moves on to the film's conclusion.

The only part of the film I didn't really buy is the subplot with Rachel's parents, who are convinced that Joshy is somehow responsible for her death. They come across as overly-accusatory and under-bereaved.

But it's still a decent little film - I'd place it above Life After Beth and Spin Me Round, below Horse Girl, and way below The Little Hours. Please see The Little Hours.

Grade: B-minus