Maggie’s Plan should have planned a better film

I keep giving actress Greta Gerwig chances to not annoy me to death. She always seems to play the female equivalent of an Adam Driver character: a self-centered, listless millennial.

She did that in SIFF favorite “Frances Ha” (which, coincidentally, is one of my most hated films) and “Mistress America.”
Well, she plays that character, again, in “Maggie’s Plan”, out now in theaters.

Maggie desperately wants to become a mother, so she plans to use a friend for his sperm to get the ball rolling. Only, once she tries, she meets the man of her dreams, John (played by Ethan Hawke), a brilliant professor and writer.

Only he’s married. But his wife, Georgette (Julianne Moore), is a “monster” control freak and given his equal interest in Maggie, he bolts the marriage to start fresh. Maggie and John live happily ever after – for a few years – before Maggie regrets it all and tries to reverse the love affair.

On paper, it’s a good idea but in reality, the film falls victim to an irritating Gerwig and a story that seems void of meaningful emotions from the lead characters because they’re annoyingly self-centered. I found myself rooting against almost all the characters in this film.

Moore’s character is outstanding and well played; ironically, it’s the “monster” who is the most identifiable to the viewer. Skip “Maggie’s Plan” this weekend.

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