Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die ~ Review

By: [email protected] on
I walked into this movie knowing only two things about it: 1) Gore Verbinski is the director, and 2) it stars Sam Rockwell. Frankly, I think you should go into this movie knowing only those things as well. So, I’m giving my recommendation now, as this movie is best enjoyed with knowing as little as possible. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a blast, and you should definitely go see it. Three and a half out of four stars. There. Review is done. You can go home.
Okay, fine. If you would like to know more, read on.
It’s very clear in this day and age that we are prisoners of the infinite scroll. I’m not saying anything you don’t already know, but Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (now X), and Bluesky are all vying for our attention. These apps are infinite distraction machines – keeping us on a constant diet of rage and nonsense. However, the thing that’s really insidious about these apps is that the user is the product; it’s your time and ideas that the apps want, and they’re slowly sucking away any free moments we have on this Earth. And AI is making all of this even worse.
This has clearly been on the minds of director Gore Verbinski and writer Matthew Robinson. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a hilarious and bananas exploration of our modern dystopia.
I’m not even sure how to describe the basic premise without giving too much away, so I’ll give it in broad strokes. Basically, on a lonely rainy night in a near-future Los Angeles, a stranger (Rockwell) stumbles into Norm's diner looking like an extra from 12 Monkeys. The stranger explains he’s from the future and is trying to prevent a catastrophic event from destroying the world. Furthermore, he needs a group of patrons from the diner to help him. So, he pulls Michael Pena, Zazie Beetz, Juno Temple, Asim Chaudhry, and Georgia Goodman. The film intercuts between the group’s quest to stop this catastrophic event and the backstories of the people involved. I will not say more, because as I said before, the less you know about Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die -- the better.
I’ve really missed Gore Verbinski the past several years. I think he’s one of the most underrated directors working, and unfortunately, he’s been stuck in director jail for the box office performances of The Lone Ranger and Cure for Wellness. Verbinski has felt like the next Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam to me — a director who is bursting with so many ideas that his films can barely contain them. This film feels like Verbinski is channeling his inner Gilliam, and not only because of all the 12 Monkeys references.
Matthew Robinson’s script is hilarious, but also very darkly comedic, and even stranger, actually moving. The script is an Olympic tonal balancing act that made me giddy seeing the filmmakers pull it off. The cast is great, Juno Temple and Hayley Lu Richardson are standouts, but again, if I get too far into why, I’ll give too much away. Rockwell is having a blast and he carries the film with his wry sarcasm and a shocking amount of heart.
Like Gilliam and Burton’s films Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die has too many ideas, almost too ambitious for its own good. However, as I’ve said before, I will never fault a movie for having too many ideas. I’m gonna be thinking about this film for a long time and probably forcing anybody who listens to me to see this movie. So, go enjoy the ride and remember: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.
 
Three and a half out of Four Stars