So far 2024 has been a rollercoaster year at the movies, but of all the famous actors on the market right now you’ve got to think Dakota Johnson has had as topsy-turvy a year as anyone.
Signing up to star as a side character in the Spider-Man universe must have seemed like a no-brainer given the stunning success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but she was instead sucked into the confusing vortex that is the Sony version of the Spider-Man continuity.
Madame Web, the result, got an all-time critical panning on release – but then took a major twist by becoming a so-good-it’s-bad classic and hitting the top spot on Netflix in recent weeks.
Now, Johnson’s back with another movie, one that looks way less likely to be controversial. It’s called Am I Ok? (an almost overly apt title following the Madame Web fallout) and will feature on HBO Max in just over a week’s time.
The movie is a debut from co-directors Tig Notaro and her wife, Stephanie Allynne, and tells the story of Lucy, as played by Johnson, a 32-year-old struggling to figure out what she wants romantically.
Some Google searches lead her to wonder if she’s gay and just never realized it, and it’s clear that we can expect a mix of comic hijinks and emotional realism from there on out.
The movie was written as a semi-autobiographical retelling of her own journey of self-discovery by Saturday Night Live writer Lauren Pomerantz, as the trailer implies, so there should be a lot of resonant moments in it.
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Interestingly, Am I Ok? actually first debuted at the Sundance festival a couple of years ago, back in 2022, and it’s been a long while coming to streaming – but HBO Max will add the movie on 6 June, so not long to wait for Dakota fans in the US.
That doesn’t mean it’s likely to be a turkey, though – despite the curious delays that have held it back from release, the movie has a hearty 79% score from a few dozen critics reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which bodes really well. The audience score might well get even more behind it, but we’re yet to see.
So, while HBO Max might not be the best streaming service for bad Dakota Johson movies, it looks like it’s about to become a solid destination for at least one good one. When Am I Ok? will come to other territories isn’t yet known, however, so those of us in the UK will be left waiting for now…
