“Geez & Ann” is an Indonesian romantic comedy that is newly released on Netflix. There were little to few reviews on this film so I went in with no expectations. Hoping for a fun rom-com, I clicked “play” and got comfortable.
Directed by Rizki Balki, “Geez & Ann” is based on the book by Rintik Sedu. The story follows a strong-willed girl named Ann (Hanggini Purinda Retto). At a music festival she is working at, she meets the heartthrob Geez (Junior Roberts) as he performs with his band. After a quick flirtatious exchange, the two part ways only for them to meet coincidently afterwords. Thus begins their relationship as they discover young love with one another. Their journey is not without its obstacles as the couple’s love is tested with various unforeseen challenges. Will Geez and Ann’s love prevail?
Well, my love for the film certainly did not. The first 20 minutes of the film did well in introducing the protagonists and their obstacles. However, I can not defend the 85 minutes that followed afterward. The movie soon became a dragging retelling of every rom-com you have ever seen.
Wealthy only child son with an overbearing parent, check! Middle-class daughter working hard to help out her family, check! Problems that could have been avoided with simple communication, check! Yup, absolutely nothing original here.
The film soon becomes repetitive as the two characters constantly fight about the same problems. The main obstacle the protagonists face is Geez’s mother — who is not too keen on her son stepping off her perfectly planned-out path. His mother is the main antagonist as she is the warden in his life keeping him from living freely. However, instead of communicating to Ann how his mother is, he keeps it from her.
This leads to the characters arguing over the same issues in an endless cycle. It seems the only big crisis the director can think of is having Geez make the same mistake over and over again. Not to mention the arguments Ann and Geez have felt very surface level, with no emotional ground.
In addition to the bland script, the acting at times was too over-the-top that it left me physically cringing at my screen. It may be how the script was written, but Retto handled dramatic scenes in a very, VERY dramatic way. In such a way that you could not help but laugh rather than feel sympathetic for her character. This created a dissociation between the character and the audience.
Now don’t even get me started on the ending. Without giving too much away, the ending definitely ended in a . . . unique way. The ending was not as simple as the plot, and it left the audience in a state of confusion— which is never good.
By the end of the film, I was questioning where it all went wrong. As I mentioned, the beginning had a good start. However, as the film progresses the plot regresses. I am just hoping that the book it is based on is better than the tedious film that I just watched.
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