Life Can Be A Mess, But So Is 'Life Itself'
Life Itself, from the creator of This Is Us, launches two family stories on two different continents. It offers some lovely moments, but its grand ambitions are beyond its grasp.
Imagine that you sit down in a darkened theater to see a film about which you know nothing. (This film does not exist, but go with it.) In the first scene, a man lovingly rehabilitates a three-legged dog. In the next — apparently unconnected — scene, a young girl sits behind the wheel of a car on her father's lap, giggling as he lets her "drive." Words come up on the screen: "Written by Dan Fogelman." At this point, if you are smart, you will lean over to the person next to you, and you will whisper in their ear, as inconspicuously as you can.
"I bet she grows up and runs over the dog."
