Friday, July 28, 2023

Wildflower showcases Mad Men's Kiernan Shipka perfectly

Wildflower was by no means at the top of my must-watch list, but anything with anyone from Mad Men (still my favorite TV show of all time) can't be too bad in my book. Kiernan Shipka, who played Don and Betty Draper's daughter Sally, returns all these years later as a high-school senior in a novel twist. She takes care of her parents, who are both intellectually disabled.

Released a few months ago to Hulu, Wildflower is a coming-of-age comedy-drama in which Shipka's charachter Bea (short for Bambi), falls into a coma right as she is getting into a romance with a hot new kid at the school played by the likeable Charlie Plummer. Shipka is also trying to figure out if she should keep taking care of her parents or start taking care of herself; she's great and in general a really mesmerizing actor. The Mad Men creators really knew what they were doing in terms of casting.

She's perfectly cast for this part too. A lot of the humor comes from the differences in the two parents' extended families. And the movie is quite funny and even silly. Despite the seeming seriousness of the content (disabilities, a coma) and the relatively deep explorations of love and acceptance, it is by no means a downer.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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