'The Wave' gives you a bad trip

By: Joanna Connelly | January 13th, 2020

The Wave is in select theaters on January 17th, 2020.

The Wave is a drug-fueled journey through a couple days in the life and death of Frank (played by Dodgeball’s Justin Long). Frank is an insurance lawyer who leaves his annoying wife at home to go out and celebrate a big success he’s had at work. Jeff (played by Scrubs’ Donald Faison) is the sidekick co-worker who lures him out to a seedy bar and an even seedier house party. Sheila Vand (the titular Girl from A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) plays Theresa, a dreamy girl who he meets at the bar who he is so attracted to he is willing to take an unknown substance just to kiss her.

The first hour of this film was difficult to watch and impossible to understand. Luckily, the last 20 minutes brought it all together to bump this movie up to 3 stars. I say it was difficult to watch, but it was also very engaging. I could not and did not WANT to stop watching it, but it felt like a long, disturbing trip. I kept trying to figure out what was going on, and I will say that the conclusion satisfies that desire.

As far as style—I would say the acting was not great. The wife and board room characters felt very stale and stereotypical. I suppose it could have been a stylistic choice to contrast with the sentiment stated in the film’s opening that “reality is a choice, man.” I don’t know what the budget was, but if they spent the bulk of it on special effects and the soundtrack, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s worth a watch if you don’t mind feeling like you’re on a bad trip for an hour.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Joanna Connelly (Guest Contributor) was born and raised in Metro Detroit. A fan of thought-provoking thrillers and indie films, she also enjoys a good chick flick. When not at the movies, she can be found running, reading, or writing bar trivia.
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