According to social influencers, 2022 was deemed the Year of the Nepo Baby referring to the children of celebrities finding success in careers similar to their parents. This romantic dramedy was released that year, and coincidentally, it starred screen veterans Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek and their adult children, Jake Hoffman and Schuyler Fisk. In this case, the younger generation turned out to be personable actors who carry the central love story with aplomb. Through relatable circumstances, their characters have taken on the caretaker role for their respective aging parents both of them going through their own infirmities. First-time director Darren Le Gallo handles the multi-generational relationships with sensitivity, but the pacing often felt glacial and the film overlong at 110 minutes. Some scenes were repetitive in their intent, especially in spotlighting the impact of the deterioration of the elders. The older Hoffman and Spacek play their measured roles with their customary skill, but the film finds more of its rhythm in the younger Hoffman's quirky pursuit of Fisk playing a self-protective character. I guess this would be considered a nepo baby romance.
Review of Sam & Kate
Sam & Kate
(2022)
A Nepo Baby Romance Complicated by the Infirmities of Aging Parents
17 September 2023