Dallas Fisher

Less than a week off of presumably coming in second place in the Best Actress race, Rose Byrne is right back in the swing of things.

Reading the title of the film might make you a little uneasy, but I promise it has nothing to do with feet. Amanda’s (Byrne) car gets towed and she goes through anything and everything to get it back. That ‘91 Camry is literally her life and she needs it to pull everything back together again. Because after this final wrong turn, her life is completely upside down.

TOW has Rose playing a homeless woman struggling with the facts of being a distant mother and everything else that life throws at her, which now includes losing her home. I know the mother part sounds pretty dang close to the role she was playing in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, but I promise it’s different! To say it’s more grounded than her previous leading role would be an understatement, and the levels to which this movie is relatable for its audience are off the chart. Not only does the story show the many parts of Amanda’s (Byrne) life, it also brings in a handful of much needed supporting characters to really bring the pieces together.

No matter how many other of those pieces are on screen, you will be drawn to Rose with every movement of your eyes. Most notably you’ll be entranced by that hairdo to end all movie hairdos. Is it a wig? I don’t know and I didn’t care. It changes with her mood and her progress in her fight. Rose Byrne’s incredible performance leaves you helpless, hopeless, and hopeful all at the same time. She truly knows how to embrace what it’s like to struggle through all five senses. You also have to applaud the skill it took for her to speak with that slightest tangy lisp. It’s almost as if she was wearing a retainer the entire filming process.

I’ll stop here to say outside of Rose loitering in your every fiber, this movie does struggle itself with staying on track. I mentioned all those other characters and it’s hard to ignore how little they help her performance, even while helping the characters. For example, I love Octavia Spencer, yet her range has never been less rangey. Simon Rex is far from the strangeness he deserves to be and Dominic Sessa, well he might be the most competent in his role but the way his character was written is quite purposeless. It seemed to be none of their faults, as once again, there’s a much more important and large performance happening right beside them. Demi Lovato being in this film just to sing for three minutes was also a choice. Am I allowed to say LOL in regards to her?

At times, the story was unbelievable. Even though I know that’s the whole point in her pursuit, it did take me out of any sympathy I had towards her. As always, I wasn’t a fan of watching certain relationships happen through disconnected phone calls. It was still sweet and hilarious to watch her follow the steps to recovery in many ways. The holiday dogs were a redundant, yet necessary feature to help me understand how long this nightmare rolled on. I could see this character being the perfect client and situation for Saul Goodman.

The fight of this story and Rose’s performance is what you’ll remember most. It was her turn at doing what Julia Roberts did for Erin Brokovich. Every generation needs a woman fighting the system, especially one that hits a lot closer to home. For me, I couldn’t help but remember the time my car was towed from the porn shop I had to park in for my apartment. Luckily, I didn’t have to go through shelters, people doing their jobs, and rich lawyers to get it back.

Don’t be surprised to see Rose back in the race again next year.


6.3/10