Together a graphic look at love and dependency
Curiously paced and at times a bit overt, Michael Shanks’ Together ultimately overcomes these faults to deliver an entertaining, albeit disturbing examination of co-dependency. Intimate in setting and scope, the couple at the center of this ever-devolving relationship enact a relatable situation for married viewers who find themselves dealing with disproportionate power dynamics. Meanwhile, genre fans will not be disappointed with the body horror hijinks that take place, that is, once they arrive.
The disharmony between Tim and Millie (real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie) is evident from the start. She’s taken a job as a schoolteacher in a small Connecticut town, something that does not fit in with her husband’s lifestyle. A struggling musician who has yet to find the success he longs for, Tim is still convinced he will make it big and leaving the New York City music scene will derail his hopes. Yet, Millie has been more than understanding, standing by him for years, making sacrifices to help her husband on his way. As a result, Tim doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Like it or not, they’re moving.
It doesn’t take long before Tim’s resentment over the situation starts to show, a sudden strain becoming the focal point of their relationship. It only gets worse when, one day while hiking on a nearby trail, they stumble into a sinkhole littered with odd artifacts and a pool of pristine water. Forced to spend the night there, Tim takes a drink from the pool, which precipitates a change in his behavior. He starts to feel ill whenever he’s separated from Millie, to the point that he starts to suffer seizures. He comes to realize the only way to avoid this is to stay near her, a situation that only exacerbates the tension between them.
What results is quite clever as the pair end up becoming literally stuck together when they make physical contact. A kiss results in their lips adhering to each other, while a bout of lovemaking becomes incredibly awkward and very, very painful. Tim does some research regarding a couple that went missing recently in the same woods they ventured into, as well as on a short-lived cult that resided in the area. He determines the water he drank is the cause of this odd condition, though no cure presents itself.
As the couple begin to realize their fate, it’s as if they’ve each been given a dose of truth serum, their honest opinions regarding their feelings for one another suddenly out in the open. Statements of resentment, envy and disgust are uttered, the couple finally realizing that while their actions towards one another were based on love, they’re laden with emotional baggage they hadn’t anticipated.
Shanks’ script is very good in this regard, its examination of the compromises we make and the ever-increasing animosity that results, resonating and growing as the couple’s plight grows more dire. Equally effective is the way in which their co-dependence is brought to life as Tim and Millie’s efforts to stay apart ultimately prove futile. Combining practical effects with CGI wizardry, the gradual melding of their body parts is impressive as well as horrifying.
While Shanks’ premise is clever, he nearly loses the audience with his deliberate narrative. Far too much time is spent establishing the history of the small village the couple has moved to and the source of their troubles. Yet, in the end, the vicarious nature of the narrative keeps us hooked, curious as to if there’s an escape provided for Tim and Millie. That you might be on the lookout for a way to get out of a relationship of your own while taking in Together is something you should perhaps keep to yourself. In theaters.
Gilmore 2 comes in barely under par
Adam Sandler engenders a great deal of goodwill. You never read a bad thing about the guy; he’s self-effacing in his humor and about his success and is, by all accounts, an incredibly loyal friend. As a result, I have often wondered if critics and the public go a bit easier on his films than other stars of his caliber. To be sure, not all his movies have a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but in reading a great many reviews from a diverse sampling of critics, there’s a sense that “It’s fine” is a general response to much of his comedic fare. (In the interest of full disclosure, I should state that I am a fan of his unfairly maligned 2011 effort, Jack and Jill.)
That’s certainly the sense I had watching Happy Gilmore 2, an unnecessary but pleasant enough time-filler that made me laugh, made me roll my eyes and made me check the time repeatedly throughout its third act. As with most of the films Sandler produces, this plays like a reunion, his usual stable of friends showing up for roles large and small, all obviously happy to be on board this ever-lucrative party train that has no sign of stopping.
Gilmore 2 is everything you’d want in a sequel to the Sandler classic, as well as a few things you can do without. The perpetually angry golfer has mellowed with age, having fathered five children – four boys and one girl – with the love of his life, Virginia (Julie Bowen), and found incredible success on the links. However, a freak accident puts him in a tailspin, causing him to lose all his money and retire from golf. Resigned to wallowing in self-pity, he’s ultimately convinced to take up his clubs once more when his daughter, Charlotte (Sadie Sandler), is accepted into a Parisian ballet school with a hefty price tag.
Sandler and co-writer Tim Herlihy lean heavily into the sports cliché handbook, Gilmore’s comeback following a familiar storyline. However, this one is replete with too many cameos for the sports world as well as the movie industry, to count. Former golfer John Daly, whose own career mirrored the crash-and-burn decline Gilmore’s does here, is on hand to give sage advice, while every living U.S. Open champion, except Tiger Woods, whose absence is conspicuous, makes an appearance at one point or another. Not to be outdone, current tour leaders, including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and others join Sandler on the links.
As for story, there’s a vague semblance of one as Gilmore and a team of pros enter a tournament where they face off against a team of physically enhanced players who specialize in a new brand of the game that plays like golf on steroids. The third act in which this showdown takes place is like being emersed in a video game, the viewer bombarded by cheap graphics and an amped up soundtrack. More of an assault than entertainment, any charm the film may have contained is nearly squandered here.
There are little in the way of surprises, though it is pleasant to see Gilmore’s old nemesis, Shooter McGavin (the always game Christopher McDonald) given a redemptive arc and, if anything, the film would have benefitted by giving him more screentime. In the end, I laughed more than I thought I would, and Gilmore 2 does exactly what it’s supposed to do. However, unlike its predecessor, I doubt I’ll ever watch it again, as it lacks the edge that made the first film effective. I’ll take a Gilmore eager to take risks over one who lays up any day. Streaming on Netflix.
This article appears in July 24-30, 2025.
