Review | ‘The Greatest Hits’ lives up to its title and rocks on
Starring Lucy Boynton, David Corenswet and Justin H. Min, “The Greatest Hits” is a wonderfully heartbreaking little movie about grief, love and learning how to move on. Photo collage by JACK SUNDBLAD, Staff Photographer
When I heard Lucy Boynton and David Corenswet — who I have been campaigning to play Superman since 2019 — would be starring together in a project for the first time since Netflix’s “The Politician,” I was ecstatic. And I was right to be.
However, if Boynton and Corenswet weren’t in this film, I would still love it due to the writing and the rest of the cast. I was happily surprised when Retta — perhaps better known from “Parks and Recreation,” if you’re as big a fan of that show as I am —- showed up. “Booksmart”’s Austin Crute was another very welcome addition.
Aside from the casting, “The Greatest Hits” initially caught my attention because of the premise. Without spoiling it, the story revolves around a woman named Harriet (Boynton) who is plagued by a strange condition: every time she hears a song she heard for the first time with her deceased boyfriend Max (Corenswet), she’s thrown back into that moment in the past. It’s interesting because, in some ways, music really does have the power to take you back to moments from the past, just maybe not quite as literally as it does here.
The story is as tragic as it sounds, make no mistake, but there’s hope to be found, too. Harriet has a budding romance with David (Justin H. Min). The thing is, her time travel keeps interrupting moments when things get more serious between them. And yes, it’s as awkward and complicated as it sounds.
“The Greatest Hits” is a very sad movie. I won’t sugarcoat it. But it’s far from only being a tragedy. It’s also really funny, heartfelt, romantic and hopeful. It also has a fantastic soundtrack and a surprise cameo from a great throwback artist — and I’m not telling you who. You’ll have to watch to find out. Just… maybe don’t watch it if you’re having a terrible day. Or if you’ve just listened to Taylor Swift’s new album and you’re feeling extra emotional.
The film is helmed by writer-director Ned Benson, who also wrote Marvel’s “Black Widow” in 2021. You may think these are two majorly different films, but at their core, they both revolve around loss and finding love again. In both films, Benson handled some very heavy topics with a lot of care. In this one, in particular, I especially liked the message that the people who are meant to stay in your life will, despite whatever odds you may be worried about.
Another message the film tries to get across (and succeeds in doing) is the fact that despite how easy it is to dwell on your regrets and all the endless what-ifs, you have to find a way not to. You have to find a way to be okay with your decisions and move on, and more than that, you have to accept that you're really only ever in control of your own actions. You can't make anyone do anything, no matter how badly you want to or how much better things would turn out for them if they would just listen.
When our two leads have their meet-cute, Harriet is on a desperate quest to find a specific song that will take her back to a specific moment so she can save Max from dying. The love story that develops helps her move forward with her life and learn how to let go, but the journey is far from easy. It’s a lot like the real-life grieving process, in that way.
The ending is so perfect and manages to be simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. It strikes a great balance between the two, which I found really impressive because a lesser writer could have easily tipped the scales too far in either direction and ruined the whole thing. It instills such hope for the future and will almost surely bring a tear to your eye.
I suppose my one critique would be that the romance between Harriet and David moved a tad fast, but it wasn’t distracting, and their chemistry was good enough that I didn’t mind too much. The film has great cinematography and is very cleverly written overall. I predicted the major twist relatively early on, but not as fully as I thought I had. The way Benson wrote it makes it so that the way the twist plays out is definitely unexpected.
Overall, this is a lovely, very well-crafted film with a unique conceit. It’s a total hidden gem, and one I highly recommend. Similar to “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” — which I can only watch once a year in order to preserve my heart and sanity — I found this to be a deeply cathartic watching experience. Coming from me, that is a compliment of the highest order.
The film can be streamed on Hulu.
