The Reel Review
A woman facing her last day on Earth before a meteor destroys the planet takes stock of her life as she and the childhood version of herself wander the streets of Los Angeles to say goodbye to friends, exes and family, in this quirky metaphysical comedy starring Zoe Lister-Jones and Cailee Spaeny.
Written and directed by Lister-Jones (Life in Pieces) and then husband Daryl Wein, How It Ends was filmed in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The comedy is less a full-fledged movie and more a series of droll vignettes featuring an array of celebrities – among them, Nick Kroll, Olivia Wilde, Bradley Whitford and Helen Hunt.
Lister-Jones and Spaeny (Mare of Easttown, Bad Times at the El Royale) have a natural, breezy chemistry and for those who relish awkward humor, the film does have a couple of chuckles. But sadly, the rest of it just isn’t funny. And even at only an hour and 20 minutes, it is still likely you will find yourself checking your watch long before that meteor hits.
REEL FACTS
• Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein got divorced in 2022 after nine years of marriage.
• Cailee Spaeny will next play Priscilla Presley in the Sophia Coppola biopic, Priscilla.
• Zoe Lister-Jones also directed Cailee Spaeny in 2020’s The Craft: Legacy
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