“Tully” Isn’t All That

Tully is a film about postpartum depression from Juno scribe and director Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman.

Marlo(Charlize Theron) is an overstressed new mom with two children (Lia Frankland, Asher Milles Fallica) and a disaffected husband (Ron Livingston). Her life improves when her brother (Mark Duplass) hires a “night nanny” Tully (Mackenzie Davis) for her.

Marlo’s and Tully’s relationship that moves from caregiver to friend to valued confidant is the emotional core of the movie. The whole thing is a blessing, recovery, and with the movie’s surprise ending, ultimately a cheat on Marlo. Instead of becoming a light comedy about a mom’s reintegration to the world again, Tully becomes Juno the tragedy.

Tully wants to go deeper. It treats the idea of comedy itself as an illusion. All this bounding, spiritual patter and glow, is just a symptom of a disease not reality. Reality is hard, hard earned and doesn’t suffer happy times delusions easily.

Tully is a cheat from a writer and director that think they know better.