One of the most anticipated features of the Fantastic Fest experience every year is the presence of secret screenings. With no clue what you’re walking into beforehand, anticipation buzzes through the attendees as everyone tries to predict what movie (or TV show) will screen. This year’s program featured a very early screening of the new film by Gore Verbinski, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.”
In a somewhat unique characteristic, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” peaks in its opening scene, which is the best of the film. It sets up the entire narrative with Sam Rockwell’s character bursting into a Norm’s Diner, claiming he is from the future and that he is assembling a team to try and save the world from destruction. It’s an early inkling of the technological satire ahead and lets the always fantastic Rockwell own the screen for an extended period of time.
From there, we slowly meet more characters, including a couple of disillusioned teachers, a grieving mother, and a mysterious girl in a princess costume. The story continues somewhat episodically, cutting away from the driving narrative at hand to provide flashback scenes to give usome context around the other characters. From this end, “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die” plays like a series of “Black Mirror” episodes, covering very dark tech nightmares of kids too connected to their phones, satirizing school shootings and proposing the concept of allergies to technology.
When it is at its best, the script is bold and incisive, daring to find laughs in laughs in the darkest of places. Juno Temple who plays the grieving mother is particularly great, as well as Haley Lu Richardson who plays the aformentioned allergic birthday party princess.
Unfortunately, the film is a little overlong and starts to wear out its welcome towards the third act. It trades its smart commentary for general weirdness and leans slightly preachy. With weirdness for the sake of weirdness, it feels ill-fitting for the otherwise conceptual big swings of the first couple of acts.
Still, Verbinski’s vision with Matthew Robinson’s script should be applauded for daring to go places most won’t. It’s a bit derivative, as it is nearly impossible to not see the influence of “Black Mirror” throughout, but still proves a worthwhile and thought-provoking tech satire.