Content Advisory: Sexual Harassment
A teenage girl finds herself in the middle of a clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend in Good One. Sam (Lily Collias) is a 17-year-old girl accompanying her father Chris (James Le Gros) on a weekend camping trip. The two are joined by Chris’ oldest friend Matt (Danny McCarthy), who is undergoing a divorce. As the weekend progresses, the tension between the three increases.
Good One Synopsis
Good One is the feature film debut by writer and director India Donaldson. Taking place during a weekend camping trip in the Catskills, the plot of the film is told from the perspective of 17-year-old Sam, played by Lily Collias. James Le Gros (Phoenix, Oregon, Blackout) co-stars as Sam’s father Chris, who still shares a relatively close relationship with his daughter, unlike Matt, played by Danny McCarthy, who angrily leaves behind his son Dylan when leaving for the trip.
It quickly turns out that Matt, despondent over his current divorce, is not too prepared to go camping. This includes overpacking his backpack, forgetting his sleeping bag and wearing denim jeans while hiking. However, this is only the beginning of the clash of egos that would happen throughout this weekend.
My Thoughts on Good One
There is a moment late in Good One when the 17-year-old protagonist Sam is bothered by a comment made to her by her father Chris’ best friend Matt. However, Chris ends up just shrugging it off when Sam brings it up to him the next day. This marks a major turning point in the film, though it happens quite deep within the 89-minute running time of Good One.
Even having some time to process the film, I’m still trying to grasp what the point of Good One is and what the title of the film is referring to. The hypothesis that makes the most sense to me is that the film shows cracks in the relationship between Sam and Chris, which previously seemed to be relatively close. For the entire trip, it is Matt who is the third wheel of the camping trip, who forgot his sleeping bag in the car, but not his canteen of booze. However, when Matt drunkenly crosses the line, it is Chris who comes to his defence.
Ultimately Good One is a character study that could probably be read in multiple different ways. However, the one constant in the narrative of the film is that Sam matures as a young woman throughout the plot. However, this new maturity might come at the cost of the close bond she shares with her father.