Dear Elizabeth Review

3 star comedy that tries as hard as it’s main character.

Dear Elizabeth (originally known as Eat Wheaties!) is a Canadian comedy film, based on the novel The Locklear Letters by Michael Kun. It is written and directed by Scott Abramovich, his feature directorial debut, for which he has managed to assemble an impressive cast. It is available on Digital Platforms in the UK from 14tth November 2022 courtesy of 101 Films.

“I just checked and there’s no Sid Straw on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You’re not even on Linked In. Are you a real person? Assuming you are, you need to get on social media pronto.”

Sid Straw (Tony Hale – What Josiah Saw, Nine Days) is an office cubicle worker who struggles to get on with his co-workers due to his constant need to make borderline offensive jokes and inability to read a situation. He is extremely socially awkward and tries far too hard.

He is very excited when he recieves an e-mail from his alma mater, University of Philadelphia, asking him to act as co-chair for the West Coast Reunion. He is advised that he needs to get himself onto social media so that he can make the necessary contacts.

He makes himself a Facebook account and this is where his troubles start. He remembers attending University with actress Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect) and decides to look her up on Facebook and reconnect with her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t understand how the platform works and unwittingly posts the messages to her page for all her fans to see.

He also contacts her agent Frankie (Sarah Chalke – The Wrong Missy) for a signed photo for his brother Tom (David Walton – Susie Searches, Later Days) which proves to be the final straw as she loses her patience and issues a restraining order. Sid’s life begins to spiral out of control as he tries to prove his innocence.

“Eat Wheaties!”

Dear Elizabeth serves well as a cautionary tale for anyone out there who doesn’t yet know how to operate Facebook. The acting is as good as you would expect from a cast like this, but this type of comedy will always be a niche market.

It’s very cringeworthy and all of the comedy is based around humiliating Sid (or him humiliating himself) and as such makes for quite uncomfortable viewing. By the end of the film it starts to feel just plain mean.

There is a decent pay-off at the end of the film, but it does feel like it comes a bit too late. Having said that, it is compelling viewing and something keeps you watching to the end, just to find out what will happen to poor Sid. Worth a stream just for the acting.

“The good news is, she’s open to revisiting her exes and she’s not going to take out a restraining order on me.”

Dear Elizabeth is available on Digital Platforms from 14th November 2022.