On Friday, March 23, the Atlanta Film Festival opened with the screening of the entertaining and lighthearted film “L!fe Happens.”
Directed by Kat Coiro and co-written by Krysten Ritter, “L!fe Happens” premiered at the independent movie festival.
Prior to the screening, Coiro and supporting actress Fallon Goodson walked the red carpet and answer a few questions about the film.
Goodson also gave us her take on what the exclamation mark in “L!fe Happens” means to both her and the film.
“Unexpectedness… As I’ve gotten into the big world by myself in my twenties, just… Life does happen. Krysten’s role goes through this monumental change where she’s going between a new life and an old life, and she has to face a choice to step into her new one.
I think a lot of people go through that in their twenties or thirties… It’s very relatable,” Goodson said. Coiro, when asked about her favorite part during shooting, only confirmed the cast’s chemistry.
“Working with the actors. The cast is just so wonderful in the movie and it was a real joy every day to work with Krysten, who’s an old, old friend of mine and Rachel (Bilson),” Coiro said.
The opening scene features Kim (Krysten Ritter) and Deena (Kate Bosworth) as roommates who are both about to have sex with their latest conquests.
Kim finds their secret stash of condoms – only to discover there is only one left. But Deena swiftly snags the condom and Kim reluctantly allows her to, which only brings her a huge responsibility.
One year later, Kim and Deena appear to be living the life. The two are seen rolling through Los Angeles while jamming out to Chamillionaire’s “Riding Dirty.” They pull up to a stoplight and two guys in a car next to them invite both girls to a party they are attending.
While Kim is conversing, the surprise of a baby crying in the backseat interrupts the girls. This scene alone sets the theme and tone for the entire movie. The multiple struggles of being a single mother are highlighted in this film, but the entire movie has a comedic undertone rather than
a serious one.
Kim and Deena are best friends who obviously are very different, and the contrast of the two characters is very well done.
Their third roommate, Laura (Rachel Bilson) throws in an ironic characterization – she is a hopelessly naive virgin who keeps getting sucked into jobs that entail sexual endeavors. Without the addition of Laura, the movie may have been a bit dry if the scenes involved solely Kim and Deena.
Interestingly enough, the leading three male characters are all connected as well.
Geoff Stults plays Nicolas, who becomes Kim’s love interest. Justin Kirk plays the flamboyant fake Frenchman named Henri. Jason Biggs portrays Nicolas’s lawyer, who is a new father. The male characters definitely help the movie to remain humorous throughout.
From start to finish, there is an underlying tension between Kim and Deena because of their completely different lifestyles. Kim’vs career is to be a mom, while Deena is busy writing about the empowerment of women. It is easy to see that their friendship is strained because of this, but the reality of it all puts everything in perspective towards the end.
There are a few cheesy gestures and it is a feel-good movie overall, but this does not invalidate the movie at all. Also, the cinematography is very clear and high resolution, which I think contrasts with the situations at hand in the movie for Kim and Deena. Like Goodson had suggested, the film can definitely strike a chord to those transitioning between a major life events.
All in all, Coiro did an exceptional job with the cast for this independent, girl-powered film. We definitely recommend it!
