Writer/director Theresa Bennett's "Social Animals" feels less like a movie production that has the audience be a casual observer of a quirky group of friends dealing with the joys and sadness of life and more like a social event where the viewer is invited to sit down with this group of friends and share intimate details of their lives. Bennett's tale draws the viewer in because the characters are not stock players in a dark comedy but fully rounded participants.
The main characters feel like people you know. That starts with Noel Wells, who gives a charming performance as the fully frustrated Zoe Crandle. Troubles she inherited from her parents, a faltering business, a sex life that is unfulfilling and a potential disastrous relationship have strained her efforts to have a generally positive approach to life. Left to deal with her own owes, Zoe might have been able to muster a final sprint of hope. The problem is she's surrounded by friends who are having their own failures in life.
The one person who offers her a slight glimmer of emotional sunlight in this dark world is Paul (Josh Radnor), who has his own troubles, including a failing business and a floundering marriage. They know their instant connection is not healthy, but Zoe and Paul share a bond of failure, where the link only grows stronger the more they struggle.
Both Wells, whose past work ranges from "Saturday Night Live" to "Wonder Over Yonder," and Radnor, best known for "How I Met Your Mother," embrace these broken characters. Bennett has written just enough smart and witty lines to make Zoe interesting without the character becoming so hip and quick with a retort she never sounds like she's having a legitimate conversation. Zoe is the kind of person you want to meet at a party because she's smart enough and funny enough to make any evening tolerable.
Radnor's good in scenes with Wells, but his best moments come when his character is dealing with his wife, Jane (Aya Cash), and their emotionally misfiring children. Bennett didn't give into the normal approach of having Paul be the brave wounded soul in the broken marriage, but shows a real reflection of life by having both he and Jane face the same kind of regrettable realizations about their lives.
Cash is an emotional typhoon as she takes on the role that generally would be given the male in this kind of marriage. She's struggling to be a wife and mother while carrying the heavy load of being the primary moneymaker. Her energy is so split she often lapses into such deep battles with angst that all she can do is cry uncontrollably. Cash is such a strong presence that each moment of emotional failure she feels leaps off the screen.
Bennett's weakness is the rest of the supporting cast. Carly Chaikin's ("Mr. Robot") role as Zoe's best friend is less a kindred spirit and more like a walking billboard from hipster horror. Her sexual frustrations are too jokey and her general demeanor is too aloof to be the emotional support Zoe needs.
Fortune Feimster ("Champions") is equally as disappointing playing the owner of a local sex store. The sequence where she teaches a class on improving sexual techniques is so void of good humor that the sequence just plays as awkward.
The good thing is the bulk of the story revolves around Zoe, Paul and Jane. Their interactions never feel forced, and that makes them interesting enough to create an instant sympathy and appreciation for them. The three performances have just the right tone to get across Bennett's message that life doesn't necessarily go as planned, and the best option is to stop fighting the negativity current and go with the flow. Bennett's ability to slide so effortlessly between taking a look at life that at times is sweetly optimistic and at other times is brutally pessimistic makes "Social Animals" comfortably compelling and extremely inviting.
"Social Animals" will be released in select in theaters plus be available through On Demand and iTunes starting Friday.
