Leslie Uggams is Showstopping in Saunders' Smashing Comedy
At the height of a time in which “cancel culture” has found its footing throughout Hollywood, Adam Saunders asks an important and timely question in his feature-length debut, Dotty & Soul.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY Adam Saunders plays the loud and obnoxious hot-shot entrepreneur, Ethan Cox. At this point in his career, Cox is ready to sell his self-driving car company and make his investors filthy rich. But when his problematic Halloween costume gets tweeted, the ensuing social media firestorm nearly ends Ethan’s career. Desperate to figure out a way forward, Ethan comes up with a wild plan.
Though the problems in Dotty & Soul resolve as quickly as they are formed, there’s no denying the sweet building friendship between the two leads. At different points in their lives, Dotty and Ethan are polar opposites. Ethan is rich, privileged, and spends every dollar he has on outlandish things — from the cars he drives down to the gaudy clothes he wears. Dotty, given her life and current experiences, has learned to be more frugal and intentional with her spending.
These core themes in Saunders’ feature — growth in spite of age, socio-economical differences, and the examination of living an authentic life — strengthens Saunders’ script in what would typically be an overused foundation for a plot. Yet, the story and characters progress naturally, and the good film comes down to its execution by the cast and crew.
Saunders’ feature-length directorial debut is a confident one. With humor and heart, he writes and directs relevant themes and experiences that the world has come to understand well at this point in society. Dotty & Soul is genuine without being preachy, and humorous without leaning into offensive territory. But most importantly, it teaches an incredibly valuable lesson in this day in age: Letting people learn from their mistakes by doing the work required to evolve.