This article contains discussions about suicide and sexual assault.

Dark humor is a very tricky tightrope to walk, particularly in the world of domestic storytelling, with movies like Danny DeVito’s The War of the Roses and Harold and Maude being some of my personal favorites of the subgenre. With The Trouble with Jessica, co-writer/director Matt Winn is clearly aiming to follow in those footsteps with his and co-writer James Handel’s mix of a serious plot and pitch black humor, though it really falls flat.
The Trouble with Jessica focuses on two married couples — Shirley Henderson’s Sarah and Alan Tudyk’s Tom, and Rufus Sewell’s Richard and Olivia Williams’ Beth — as they enjoy a dinner night at the former’s home, which they are about to finalize selling. Their dinner becomes a tense night of past conflicts bubbling to the surface when the group’s free-spirited friend, Indira Varma’s Jessica, invites herself, critiquing the group for their socially normal lives and flirting with Tom. When their night is interrupted by one of their deaths, the group tries to hide the body to avoid impacting the house’s sale.
The Trouble With This Movie Is Its Insensitive Handling Of Its Plot

There Doesn’t Seem To Be Any Sympathy

The setup of Trouble with Jessica’s plot is actually one that could’ve led to a fun dark comedy, something in the vein of Weekend at Bernie’s or both the original and Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead remake. Instead, it ends up being uncomfortable to watch. As the title hints, Jessica is the one to die in the middle of the dinner party, but rather than from inadvertently choking on food or being murdered by one of the other party guests, she dies by suicide, seemingly due to a tense argument she had with Sarah.

This becomes all the more troublesome as the movie progresses, as it never really feels like The Trouble with Jessica recognizes the modern implications depicting this situation has.

It’s an already difficult event to handle in storytelling, and making it the catalyst for the movie’s plot doesn’t feel like the right choice, particularly because of how the movie handles it. The rest of the cast take very little time to actually recognize the seriousness of the situation, namely Sarah and Tom, who almost immediately turn to thinking about themselves and how Jessica’s dead body would upend their efforts to sell their home and avoid bankruptcy.
This becomes all the more troublesome as the movie progresses, as it never really feels like The Trouble with Jessica recognizes the modern implications of depicting this situation. I’d argue that tackling this topic through a comedic lens is a bad idea, but with so much of the movie’s dialogue turning Jessica into the villain of the story, the film seems to lack any sympathy for suicidal ideation, thus deciding for the story to be a dark comedy all the worse.
The Movie Is Also Just Largely Unfunny

There Are A Few Chuckles To Be Had, But Most Jokes Are Signposted & Unoriginal

I hoped that since the movie aimed to be a comedy, it would deliver laughs either before or during its body-hiding focus; unfortunately, The Trouble with Jessica couldn’t even find a way to be funny to compensate for its insensitive plot. The domestic squabbles that happen in the movie’s first act feel no different from any other in the genre, with atypical complaints about jobs, children, and lamenting of aging failing to be original, or even that funny.

Even putting aside my own feelings about the movie’s handling of this element, the scene is so tonally imbalanced that it took me out entirely.

The movie’s failure to nail its dark comedy goal arises during the discussions surrounding Richard’s job as a defense counselor for rapists. It’s a topic that everyone in the film is clearly uncomfortable discussing, particularly as Richard tries to make jokes about it and defend himself through the lens of providing for his family’s comfortable lifestyle. But it’s very clear we’re meant to sympathize with him and chuckle at his distaste for the job, but all I felt was disgust at the things he said.
Another example of the movie’s dark humor failing to land comes when the characters find Jessica’s body. Rather than let it be an appropriately dramatic or heartbreaking moment, Matt Cooper and Matt Winn’s jazzy original soundtrack kicks into fast-paced gear, with Tom failing to help after suffering from a cramp, while everyone else runs in circles trying to figure out what to do. Even putting aside my own feelings about the movie’s handling of this element, the scene is so tonally imbalanced that it took me out entirely.
That’s not to say The Trouble with Jessica is entirely without jokes that work, as an unexpected run-in with the couple wanting to buy Tom and Sarah’s house creates a broadly funny, deadpan tour of the place. Additionally, a drive to Jessica’s place results in a twentysomething couple getting a little too amorous on the group’s parked car, which makes for an enjoyable moment of shock humor for them all.
The Cast Plays Their Unlikable Parts Well

Maybe I Would’ve Been More Invested In The Story If The Group Were Less Detestable

One of the bigger areas that ultimately left me feeling more mixed was the movie’s talented cast. The four leads certainly have an inherent understanding of who their characters are meant to be, and do a great job portraying them, particularly Henderson, who is a compelling wild card throughout the movie. Sewell is also fairly delightful with his increasingly manic performance, a far cry from the cool, collected defense attorney we see at the movie’s start.
Despite their best efforts, though, The Trouble with Jessica’s cast still can’t overcome just how unlikable their characters are. Given how troubling their actions are, the script should have made some effort to help us connect to the group, and yet, despite all of their posturing about morality and ethics, there are few moments that allow us to sympathize or empathize with them, adding up to a largely frustrating escalation of events and character moments.
The Trouble with Jessica releases in theaters on April 25.