Film Review: All Together Now

One the greatest difficulties and personal hurdles one has to overcome at some point in their life is swallowing their pride, and asking for much needed help. We’re raised for the aim to be self-sufficient, to be able to get whatever needs to be done to be done on our own accord and ability, but as much as we try, we can’t always be prepared for what life throws at us. It’s a little ironic considering the foundation of a healthy community is our ability to help one another at a time of need.

When it comes to helping others, Amber Appleton (Auliʻi Cravalho) is always eager to lend a hand. In the intro of the new Netflix film, All Together Now, we see her navigating various jobs and volunteer efforts, all connected by her big smile and bouncy personality. However, her life is quite far from perfect. She is homeless, secretly sleeping every night with her mother, Becky (Justina Machado), in the school bus that she drives for work. Despite all the efforts she puts into giving and helping others, she keeps her problems hidden from everyone else. It isn’t until when things take a turn for the worse that she begins to learn to accept the help of her friends.

The film is based on book, “Sorta Like a Rockstar,” by Matthew Quick, who is credited in penning the script with Marc Basch and director, Brett Haley. I’ve grown quite fond of Haley’s work as a filmmaker. With all the films he’s released, like I’ll See You In My Dreams, The Hero, Hearts Beat Loud, or All The Bright Places from earlier this year, he has a way of touching on harsh realities with plot lines that could easily lend themselves to melodrama. However, his approach is so gentle, understated, and carried by an underlying sweetness that it leaves a strong, lasting emotional impact.

With All Together Now, he very much continues his streak. There are certainly arguments to be made about how it may sand the edges of the experience of being homeless, which I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with, but what Haley does brilliantly with his approach is that it can acknowledge these truths while not wallowing in the misery that would theoretically come with it. There’s a hopefulness to it that is infectious, and it makes all the more bitter notes more easier to swallow.

If there is one thing to really get out of this, it’s that Auliʻi Cravalho is an absolute star. Most will probably recognize her as the voice of Moana in the Disney animated film. She has done some live-action work since voicing Moana in 2016, but they have been on TV. All Together Now marks her feature live-action debut, and she is just wonderful. It’s damn near impossible to watch the opening moments of the film, and not have a big smile on your face while you watch her teach a group of people to sing. She has a strong energy and enthusiasm that is smartly contrasted with her more subdued moments later in the film.

The supporting cast appears to be a collection of relative newcomers and reliable veterans, which definitely falls in line with how Haley has cast his films. Younger cast members like Rhenzy Feliz, Taylor Richardson, and Anthony Jacques make a really strong impression. And they are able to hold their own with established talent like Fred Armisen – who surprisingly doesn’t get much to do, Judy Reyes, and probably my favorite of the bunch, Carol Burnett, who plays a reclusive curmudgeon at a nursing home that Amber visits. The cast is just so well tuned into Haley’s very specific tonal wavelength as a storyteller that it’s easy to get sucked into the journey.

I found myself deeply moved by All Together Now. It does reach its climax on a note that that seems like it’s giving an easy out for its lead character, but it does a great job at getting you emotionally invested, and buying into the optimistic and tender worldview of the filmmaking that I was able to go with it. I think it cements Auliʻi Cravalho as a major talent who is more than just a great singing voice, and I can’t wait to see what kind of cinematic territory she’ll explore next. Brett Haley’s affection and love for his characters shines through as usual, and the film channels all that love around a message that I think should be heard. It’s OK to hurt, it’s OK to express your hurt, and it’s OK to ask for and accept help from the folks who care.

All Together Now is now out on Netflix.