It’s delightfully serendipitous that Molli and Max in the Future is coming to video-on-demand platforms to watch from the comfort of one’s home at the same time that Dune: Part Two is dominating multiplexes. The two films are mirror images of each other in a very specific sense: they both use science fiction and fantasy elements as vehicles to explore real-world issues. However, Molli and Max is one of the year’s best comedies as opposed to one of the year’s best epics. Think When Harry Met Sally… in the future, mixed with dashes of Idiocracy.
Molli (Zosia Mamet) and Max (Aristotle Athari) are two young adults in a confusing future filled with alternate dimensions, casual time travel, and thousands of alien cultures already mostly assimilated amongst humankind. Max himself is a “fish person” and occasionally deals with prejudice, both in real life and on social media (which is more like virtual reality here). Molli joins and leaves a cult led by a tentacled demigod during the section of the film where she and Max keep running into each other over several years. The two disaffected acquaintances eventually become best friends, even though they clearly have romantic chemistry from the start. Their conversations allow for more humorous exposition around what their future looks and feels like, and Alex Winkler’s jazzy score keeps the tone enjoyably airy, even through moments of biting satire and introspection.
Among many accomplishments, Molli and Max’s best feature is its incredibly inventive use of its modest budget. Director Michael Lukk Litwak, production designer Violet Overn, and the geniuses at artist-owned production house The Family consistently offer up Tron-inspired neon sets and props while maintaining a charming low-key feel to the whole picture. The film’s style is the reason it feels invitingly homemade — its resourcefulness becomes its strength. It’s also worth noting how effective and well-handled the green-screen effects are overall, especially when you see just how much green screen was used from the brief behind-the-scenes snippets in the credits. Though you can probably guess in most instances how they achieved this look, it’s such a cool look that it begs for a peek behind the curtain.
Zosia Mamet is the heart of the film. It is Molli’s journey of self-discovery which propels the meager plot forward. I don’t use the word “meager” pejoratively; the film is a light, breezy comedy, and it absolutely should be. But the emotional grace notes are remarkably well-delivered by Mamet, and they are the necessary pillars which stabilize the movie through its various episodes. Athari is always very funny in an inventively deadpan way, and this makes Max a perfect foil for Molli. He alternates between saying exactly what he means and revealing none of his emotions, and she is just starting to get comfortable dropping her own pretensions. For this kind of quirky, unique comedy, their push-pull dynamic is surprisingly convincing and involving.
I can accept that not every viewer will think all of Molli and Max’s various elements hang together as perfectly as I think they do. However, there’s no denying that this film is one of the most original we’re likely to see this year, and for that, along with its intelligent comedic take on topical issues and the lovely and memorable romance at its core, I think it’s one of the year’s best. | George Napper
Molli and Max in the Future is now available on many video-on-demand platforms.
