''Before You Know It'' is a 2019 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Hannah Pearl Utt. It was co-written by, and stars, Utt and Jen Tullock.

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...

Mike Colter Mike Randal Colter (born August 26, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Luke Cage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the streaming television series ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and '' Jes ...

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

, and

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nich ...

appear in supporting roles. It was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * '' ...

Plot

The film centres on a dysfunctional and codependent family who are struggling to maintain the family business, a small community theatre in New York City, where father Mel performsin plays he has writtento an ever dwindling audience. Mel's eldest daughter, Jackie, is a quirky actress stuck in perennial adolescence despite being mother to teenage daughter Dodge. Mel's younger daughter, Rachel, is a business-minded lesbian whose attempts to be the responsible member of the family have made her something of a

control freak The colloquialism control freak usually describes a person with an obsession with getting things done a certain way. A control freak can become distressed when someone causes a deviation in the way they prefer to do things. Control freak can als ...

. Mel self-sabotages a playwright fellowship, complete with a major premiere of his latest play, that Rachel has lined up for him. Her angry outburst is followed minutes later by him having a fatal heart attack, which leads to the discovery that he had lied to her and Jackie for much of their lives about the identity and death of their mother; their real mother is in fact soap opera actress Sherrell, who has been left ownership of the theatre and the family home in Mel's will.

Cast

Reception

''Before You Know It'' holds approval rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on reviews, with an average score of . The site's critical consensus reads, "''Before You Know It'' wrings an entertaining dramedy out of one family's fraught dynamic thanks to wise, witty writing and sharp work from a talented ensemble." Beandrea July of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' writes, “A strong debut that pushes the boundaries of what movies made from the female gaze can mean to audiences of all kinds...engrossing and entertaining." Nick Allen of

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

writes, “A refreshing comedy...not afraid to be silly or tender."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Before You Know It 2019 films 2019 comedy films 2019 LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films American comedy films American LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films LGBT-related comedy films 1091 Media films 2010s American films