My Dead Friend Zoe often delivers on the laughs, but it is not just a comedy, it is a heartwrenching story about PTSD and getting older.
For some reason discussing mental health is taboo. Things might be getting better but a lot of folks still sweep it under the rug. They would rather suffer in silence than reveal that they are struggling. My Dead Friend Zoe shines a light on PTSD, as well as Alzheimer’s Disease, in a relatable and intriguing way.
This movie follows Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) after she gets out of the Army. It is apparent that she has lost a friend, Zoe (Natalie Morales) but still sees and hears her. This leads to a lot of jokes, with Morales constantly saving us as we near tears with her comedic relief.
Martin-Green and Morales are a joy to watch together, even when they have arguments, because their chemistry is so raw and real. Funny enough, this is not the first time Morales has played a dead friend, so perhaps she brought a lot of her experience from I’m Totally Fine over to My Dead Friend Zoe.
While this story focuses heavily on the two of them and the mental health struggles that can come after the military – or because of anything in life – there is more to the story. Ed Harris plays Merit’s grandfather Dale. He is suffering from early Alzheimer’s Disease, something that can completely devastate families. Dale is also an Army veteran, which has created a strong bond between him and Merit, even though they seem to have drifted apart after his wife died.
Morgan Freeman plays a VA group counselor who tries his best to get Merit to open up, and Utkarsh Ambudkar portrays a love interest for her. While I do agree that both are important to the story, I wish they had more to do – Ambudkar in particular. It feels as if this relationship only grazes the surface, and I would have liked to have seen it explored deeper.
Martin-Green is exceptional as Merit, as is Morales as Zoe. I would love to see them in more things together because there seems to be a natural chemistry there. While there is a lot of humor in the movie, there are also quite a few scenes that are difficult to watch. This movie brilliantly pulls at your heartstrings, and serves up some truly heartwrenching moments that will hopefully have a lasting impact on viewers.
My Dead Friend Zoe shines a light on important topics, in particular mental health. If this film inspires even one person to reach out to their friends who might be struggling or do the reaching out if they are the one struggling, then it will have brought some good into a world that needs it.
My Dead Friend Zoe heads to theaters on February 28.
NEXT: Riff Raff Review: An All-Star Cast Brings Their A-Game
About My Dead Friend Zoe
MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE is a dark comedy drama that follows the journey of Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green), a U.S. Army Afghanistan veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (Natalie Morales), her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor (Morgan Freeman), the tough love of her mother (Gloria Reuben) and the levity of an unexpected love interest, Merit’s cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the world.
That is until Merit’s estranged grandfather (Ed Harris) — holed up at the family’s ancestral lake house — begins to lose his way and needs the one thing he refuses… help. At its core, this is a buddy film about a complicated friendship, a divided family, and the complex ways in which we process grief.
