But “State of the Union” is nearly all talk, and the drama, if there’s going to be any, is in the serve and volley of the conversation. But even when the writing feels a little vague or forced, Pike and O’Dowd make the scenes work. Who could be bored? We can see why Tom, a narcissistic pop-culture savant similar to O’Dowd’s character in “Juliet, Naked” (adapted from a Hornby novel), and the brusque, superior Louisa were attracted to each other. But we also see why they’re an imperfect match, and how they can miss each other’s cues even as they’re making progress — how they listen to each other except when they don’t.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2019 18:45 UTC