Going into Ashby, I was hoping for a well directed,smaller, coming-of-age film. What I got was more like a bowl of trail mix. This film contains a hand full of positives; decent performances, heartfelt moments, and what I enjoyed most of all was the humor.
It was really light hearted and I really connected with Nat Wolff's character Ed. However, he is the only one I really connected with. Ashby (Mickey Rourke) was a fun character, that was not fully developed, and had more to offer. Then we had Eloise (Emma Roberts) the love interest, and June Wallis (Sarah Silverman), Ed's mom. These two characters for me felt bland and except for a couple of funny moments with Sarah Silverman, didn't do much for me.
Then we get into the main plot of the story, and although I was never lost, there was way too many sub plots and holes that were never really addressed. The pace of the film also felt stop and go, where in some instances it flowed well, then all of a sudden it braked to a stop and slowed down, then sped back up. The tone also changed from scene to scene and I couldn't figure out what the director was going for exactly.
Although I did not love this film, I didn't hate it either. I especially loved Nat Wolff's performance in the first and second acts, but then he lost me towards the end, when the movie shifted completely. Overall, I look at this film as a light-hearted, comedy, coming-of-age movie, that tries to be a lot of other things as well. I would recommend checking it out if you have spare time or if you want to hear Mickey Rourke's amazing voice.
