Brie Larson is one of the brightest young actresses of the moment, alongside Shailene Woodley and Greta Gerwig. Her wrenching performance in Short Term 12 (2013’s finest independent film, in my opinion) is a stunner and she should have a prosperous future in the industry. Now, Larson is in talks to star in The Good Luck of Right Now, based on the new novel from Matthew Quick, the author of Silver Linings Playbook. Although Larson is the only actor attached to the comedy, she is in good company: the directors are Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris of Little Miss Sunshine fame, and the script comes from Mike White (Enlightened, School of Rock).
Quick’s novel is not out in bookstores until February 11, but the plot synopsis is wonderfully quirky. The Good Luck of Right Now is about Bartholomew Neil, a 38-year-old man who finds a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere belonging to his late mother. Bartholomew starts a rich correspondence with the Primal Fear actor and soon, a group of outsiders, including a struggling priest and a “Girlbrarian,” as well as Gere’s spirit, come to Bartholomew’s aid and form a circle of friends. This is a hard synopsis to make sense of, but I trust Mike White in delivering a comedy filled with pain and pathos. (If you have not watched the 18 episodes of his short-lived HBO comedy Enlightened, you need to.)
Larson will play the “Girlbrarian,” who falls in love with the protagonist – although she believes she was abducted by aliens. The actor has just the ethereal appeal to make this quirky role work and her face is always a welcome sight on the screen. She is currently shooting the ensemble crime thriller The Gambler with Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman and Jessica Lange, and will make another appearance on NBC’s Community this winter after a memorable guest turn last season.
Tell us, what do you think of The Good Luck of Right Now? Does it sound appealing, or too quirky?
