A man runs from a proposal and heads to a beach when he rekindles an old friendship that relights an old flame.
Coming to you courtesy of 9 writers (Andre Araujo, Otavio Chamorro, Raul Damasceno, Allan Deberton, Wislan Esmeraldo, Pedro Karam, Renata Monte, Lucas Paraizo, Bianca Tadini), yes 9, yes really, and one director (Allan Deberton), the film is oddly coherent given how many cooks were in the kitchen at one point or another. The story here is interesting and gives a view into a man making an odd decision that becomes a partially good one and partially bad one, considering mostly himself until things go sideways. There is a lesson here and it’s both obvious and hammered home a few times. The writing is mostly fun, but it does feel a bit heavy-handed on some things while the direction works well with the script, meaning it doesn’t course correct from the writing. The musical aspect here is unavoidable and not all the songs/musical numbers land right, in fact most of them bring the pace to a screeching halt, making this viewer (who loves musicals mind you) want to fast forward through them/ The musical aspect here is interesting at times, but mostly feels forced at others.
The lead here is played by Gabriel Fuentes who does decent work of playing a partially morally grey character, one that has layers upon layers, most of them seemingly coming from Fuentes’ portrayal. Joining him as the long lost friend/potential lover is Vinicius Teixeira who is charming and almost cunning, giving his character life, charm, and something hidden that is not quite clear for most of the film, a possibly calculated performance move here. The rest of the cast of The Best Friend is decent, most of them doing their best supporting work, giving the leads space when needed and filling the void the rest of the time. There is something in the ensemble cast here that works quite well for most of the runtime. The appearance by Gretchen feels like it both fits and doesn’t, something is off here, but it is not in her performance as herself.
The cinematography here is solid, the work by Beto Martins shows the beauty of the land, the joys of vacation, and everything else the film needs. The framing, use of light, and the way the images work with the story elevates the film overall. The editing by Herlon Robson works great with the images at hand and help move the story along.
The Best Friend is a romantic comedy telling a tale of wanting, lust, loss, and taking risks that may not all pay off. There is a lot in here and sometimes there is too much here. The story works with some details being less interesting and a bunch of musical numbers that don’t always work for the film. It’s not a bad film, it’s entertaining, but it’s both missing something and has too much going on at the same time.