Real-life married couple Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon just really love working together, huh? For the first time in twenty years, the duo return to the screen for an unconventional middled-age romance. Putting the age gap relationship under the microscope, director Michael J. Weithorn has a fresh energy in willing to approach these unsung stories. Sedgwick and Bacon make a perfect pairing for obvious reasons—their chemistry practically reverberates from the screen. With a game ensemble cast and a beautifully ethereal score, The Best You Can puts on its charms early and never turns them down.
As her eighty-seven-year-old husband, Walter (Judd Hirsch), begins slipping through the fingers of his much-younger wife, the fiercely successful Cynthia Rand (Sedgwick) is left to figure out a way to get his dementia under control. Meanwhile, Brooklyn Private Security Patrol officer Stan Olszewski (Bacon) has just been diagnosed with a serious case of enlarged prostate, and remains in a constant on call state of urination. A break-in brings Stan to the window of Cynthia, who promptly bonks him on the head not realizing he’s there to help. Their meeting appears to be kismet: Cynthia actually owns her own urology practice, and can help Stan resolve his pesky pissing issues.
The two have a naturalism, a naturally flirty energy that no doubt comes transported in from the real thing. Their conversations frequently occur over text message, where Weithorn often portrays their voiceovers reading out what we also see onscreen. Texting mishaps actually lead to the beginnings of a beautiful friendship. It turns out that as much as he might need Cynthia’s professional expertise, she needs Stan in a supportive way as Walter’s dementia begins to progress. What happens if she accidentally falls for the charismatic Stan whilst Walter has lapses of place and time?
While I admittedly did not expect much from this one, The Best You Can was a pleasant surprise among a sea of cynical festival fare. Its heartfelt story sucks the viewer right in, adding that extra layer of dementia commentary. Though it eventually spells out its title meaning verbatim, it still fits the movie like a glove. Certainly, the cast and crew were doing the best they could in making a one-note idea into a living breathing thing, carrying a contagious musical energy. Brittany O’Grady and Kevin Bacon singing live can only make a good movie even better, and their mini-jam sessions always feel special. A lovely rom-com stuffed with laugh-out-loud moments, The Best You Can makes the ultimate argument for Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick being an indestructible duo both on and off screen.
The Best You Can premiered at 2025’s Tribeca Film Festival.
