Humor Me 2018

Nate Kroll is a playwright who suddenly loses his job, Nirit and home. With no other options, he moves in with his eccentric father, Bob, who lives in a retirement community. After barely settling in, only 24 hours there, Nate’s dad lands him a gig at the home, working in the laundry. Soon after being hired to fold towels, his retired military boss Ellis fires him. Wandering through a common area, Nate discovers The Cranberry Bog Players, a tight-knit group of residents planning to stage The Mikado.

Bob’s girlfriend Connie, sharing a spliff with Nate, explains she started using to cope with the effects of chemotherapy. She met Bob while he volunteered at the cancer ward, a habit she suggests he picked up from visits to his wife, who did not survive breast cancer. Connie proposes Nate help direct the play.

At the preliminary meeting, four women are present, hesitant or uninterested in the chosen work. Dee is one of the residents, and her daughter Allison lives there, out of place, much like Nate. Allison is complimentary of Nate’s work and invites him to dinner at her mom’s. He learns she’s there after detoxing in rehab; she’s a musician contemplating a move to Seattle, away from New Jersey, to teach music.

[Helen], one of the Players, takes an interest in Nate. He skillfully dodges her, pointing out Ellis’s interest. Leaving her place on a Vespa, Ellis chases on a golf cart. On the way, Nate picks up Allison and they get away, and he manages to persuade Helen to give Ellis a chance, for which he’s grateful.

Time passes, Nate begins going on power-walks with his dad; he hands his latest manuscript to Allison for proofreading and the rehearsals for the play progress. He maintains nightly Skype calls with his son Gabe in France, and even gets some dental work done.

The Cranberry Bog Players, after finding a video of Nate’s successful screenplay, arrange a viewing at Bob’s place. The video essentially tells the story of his parents dealing with cancer. Bob angrily shuts it off, and soon after is rushed to the hospital. While waiting for him to wake from a coma, Connie hands Nate a key to a storage locker filled with his mom’s belongings.

Seeing Nate at his dad’s bedside, Allison confronts him about quitting. She tells him the new screenplay is good, though unfinished, and accuses him of being the reason it isn’t complete.

At the hospital, Nate and Connie take turns telling jokes to Bob, and they see him respond to the humor. He gradually emerges from the coma. Back at the home, Nate asks to return, making adjustments. At the upcoming performance, sly slapstick and sexual innuendo have been added to the routine. The producer who had pulled out of the last show praises the work, and Connie—his soon-to-be-ex—arrives with Gabe; she has earned money in France and says she’ll seek divorce papers with joint custody, while Nate introduces his son to Allison.

The finale opens with a playbill announcing the opening of Nate’s new show. The camera then shifts to the home: Gabe finishes a piano lesson with Allison; they walk past a group of women rehearsing for a new performance; Ellis is seen with his partner; the crew makes their way to the pool area, and Bob, Nate, and Gabe cannonball into the water.**