Don't Make Me Go

Name: Don't Make Me Go
Genre: Drama
Released: July 15, 2022
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 54
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Jen Van Epps, John Cho, Josh Thomson, Kaya Scodelario

2022

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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5.5	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 8 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Amazon Studios | Release Date (Streaming): July 15, 2022 | R

Starring: Jemaine Clement, Jen Van Epps, John Cho, Josh Thomson, Kaya Scodelario, Mia Isaac, Mitchell Hope, Otis Dhanji, Quentin Warren, Stefania Owen

Summary: When single father Max (John Cho) discovers he has a terminal disease, he decides to try and cram all the years of love and support he will miss with his teenage daughter Wally (Mia Isaac) into the time he has left with her. With the promise of long-awaited driving lessons, he convinces Wally to accompany him on a road trip from CaliforniaWhen single father Max (John Cho) discovers he has a terminal disease, he decides to try and cram all the years of love and support he will miss with his teenage daughter Wally (Mia Isaac) into the time he has left with her. With the promise of long-awaited driving lessons, he convinces Wally to accompany him on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion, where he secretly hopes to reunite her with her mother who left them long ago. … Expand

Director: Hannah Marks

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 109 min

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Critic Reviews

Amy Nicholson

Jul 14, 2022

Cho and Isaac’s stellar performances expose the gulf between familiarity and intimacy. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jul 15, 2022

Marks has a skill with character, and her clear trust in Cho and Isaac is rewarded with a father/daughter chemistry that we believe 100%, which allows the emotional arc to connect even when we can see where it’s going. Read full review

The Playlist Nick Allen

Jul 18, 2022

The structure here is not about conventional pay-offs, and it does give Don’t Make Me Go its own distinct feeling, however familiar its pieces. Read full review

Martin Tsai

Jul 13, 2022

Even for a movie obsessed from the outset with its destination, Don’t Make Me Go mostly takes a road to nowhere. Read full review

Sarah-Tai Black

Jul 18, 2022

While its issues with pacing can be overlooked in favor of its welcome sincerity and full heart, everything that Marks’ film offers us is well-trod territory. Read full review

Matt Fowler

Jul 15, 2022

Don't Make Me Go features excellent performances from John Cho and Mia Isaac, but it stumbles big at the finish line. Read full review

Simon Abrams

Jul 15, 2022

Unfortunately, the movie’s unexpected plot twist violently re-directs its treacly uplift narrative for the sake of a Hail Mary conclusion that’s almost ridiculous enough to be campy fun. It’s not though, since the twist in question feels like a last-ditch effort to convince viewers that the movie’s otherwise plain story, credited to Vera Herbert (series writer on “This Is Us”), has more depth than it does. Read full review

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User Reviews

blackrose0489

Jul 20, 2022

This movie was so amazing… and the ending made it even better! Definitely not what you expect…don’t read the spoilers.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alanpotter17

Mar 24, 2023

É um "Aftersun" do mainstream, sem as técnicas e delicadezas que poderia ter sido. A história é centrada na relação entre pai e filha, e ao menos a química entre os dois garante o interesse até o final.
O filme começa com uma cena dos dois numa praia de nudismo, a qual será retomada em umÉ um "Aftersun" do mainstream, sem as técnicas e delicadezas que poderia ter sido. A história é centrada na relação entre pai e filha, e ao menos a química entre os dois garante o interesse até o final.
O filme começa com uma cena dos dois numa praia de nudismo, a qual será retomada em um momento chave da história, pois depois da abertura, o enredo retrocede um pouco para vermos como os personagens foram parar lá. Obviamente foi só um detalhe "engraçadinho" do filme, que narra basicamente um drama bem pesado: o pai descobre que tem uma doença no cérebro e lhe restam duas opções, ou fazer uma cirurgia com pouquíssima chances de êxito ou então aguardar a morte por algo em torno de um ano, dado o tumor ser maligno e estar crescendo.
Assim, os dois resolvem dar uma pausa em suas vidas (ambos tem um relacionamento, o do pai bem mais sólido do que o da filha), para se aventurarem numa espécie de road movie para ir ao encontro da mãe, afinal, a filha não poderia ficar só.
Nesse caminho, há dois problemas: o filme é extremamente convencional e não se justifica o pai esconder a doença e suas intenções da filha, uma vez que a garota já é uma adolescente, uma simples conversa aqui resolveria muita coisa. Assim, o roteiro opta por escolher a via mais piegas, e com isso consegue arrancar cenas de vergonha alheia. O auge foi o constrangimento ao pararem na tal praia de nudismo, ou seja, ficaram criando situações forçadas e com dramas apelativos, como a situação por si não fosse o suficiente apara sustentar o argumento.
Note por exemplo que um filme como "Aftersun" consegue arrancar mais carga dramática indo pelo caminho oposto, ou seja, apostando na contenção e simplicidade do cotidiano, e olha que estamos falando da mesma relação com o pai, mas com uma filha ainda mais nova. Até a cena de Karaokê existe aqui, pra ver como a comparação faz sentido.
E embora o road movie tenha sido meio aborrecido, o filme cresce no seu final, quebrando as expectativas e fazendo pensar, claro que com muito didatismo, afinal, é um filme que a todo instante precisa ser palatável.
Ou seja, tem uma mensagem bonita, mas não foge do convencional, daqueles tipos de filme que até pode arrancar lágrimas, mas não sairão do lugar comum. Ainda bem que as atuações também estão muito boas, e tudo é muito bem feito, a ponto de pelo menos ser crível o suficiente e emocionante o suficiente até o final. Tá longe de ser ruim, mas poderia ser muito mais.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Jul 19, 2022

(Mauro Lanari)
The Yankee world is convinced that any problem can be solved on the road: false. Cognitively, one limits itself to provide simple answers to complex problems, emotionally one stops at the tearjerker, lenitive until it runs out.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Kpoetics

Aug 6, 2022

Great to see John Cho back on the big screen with a steamy sex scene to boot! About time we see AAPI men depicted in movies as lovers and romantic leads. More of this please!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Jul 17, 2022

Manipulative. That's quite easy to see from the first few minutes and is revealed as soon as you go a little further.

The lead duo tries to make the journey enjoyable, which is noteworthy, although as father and daughter they lack sincere chemistry. Clearly John Cho is the actor with theManipulative. That's quite easy to see from the first few minutes and is revealed as soon as you go a little further.

The lead duo tries to make the journey enjoyable, which is noteworthy, although as father and daughter they lack sincere chemistry.
Clearly John Cho is the actor with the experience and it shows.

The main issue I find with Don't Make Me Go is that it's too conventional and that interferes quite a bit with what is supposed to flow in a more authentic and effortless way and yet it seems messy and artificial.
All this in order to build up to a twist at the end that completely lacks the emotional shock I want to believe the script was going for, especially since the whole movie tries to make you feel sorry for another character and its predicament, which is the catalyst for all the events that occur here, so that twist feels like a cheap trick to provoke even more emotionalism from the audience, which I've always hated in this genre, cause it feels manipulative.

Maybe it's not a dud, but it's the kind of film that's made to be forgotten as soon as it's over.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

AmateurfilmVWR

Jan 10, 2023

John Cho and Mia Isaac are good. The movie had me for most of it's runtime until the last half with (if you want to call it that) twist ending. It felt manipulative and just left a sour taste with me overall

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bertobellamy

Jul 19, 2022

A generic road movie with two fine performances that make you care for a while. The cliches in it are only overmatched by what could easily be the worst plot twist in the history of cinema. Shame on the writer who came up with that.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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