Hulu’s latest film, The Greatest Hits proves that even in a genre seemingly out of ideas, something singular can still come out of it. The idea of combining a romance film with time travel with a musical twist is the kind of uniqueness I want to see more of in the genre. It’s certainly better than a majority of streamer-backed, generic action flicks that seem to be constantly churned out year after year.
The Greatest Hits stars Lucy Boynton as Harriet, a young woman who, after a car accident, gains the ability to travel back in time to various points in her life through music. Harriet’s boyfriend, at the time, Max (David Corenswet) was killed in the accident, and she relives her times with him through the music they shared together. Harriet is also in therapy over the accident, where she meets David (Justin H. Min). Harriet and David immediately have a spark, but she must wrestle with the the acceptance over her dead former boyfriend and her new-found flame.
It’s movies like this one that make me so hopeful that there’s still so much innovation left to do in Hollywood. The Greatest Hits is such a unique take on the time travel genre as well as the rom-com. On top of that, there’s some really great stylistic choices in both the music and the cinematography. The present day for Harriet is presented frequently in a dark and gloomy atmosphere, whereas Harriet’s past is always bright and happy. I really enjoyed the duality of these moments. In addition, the use of color really works in some unique ways, esepcially in the silent rave scene, which was a highlight of the film.
It was also really cool how director Ned Benson weaved music into moments from Harriet’s past and present. Couple that with a soundtrack that truly rocks and it was certainly a great time.
However, with all of that, I wasn’t totally convinced on the chemistry between Boynton and Justin H. Min. There were moments between them that truly worked, but from the meet-cute onwards there was an awkwardness between the two that was hard for me to work through. This may have been intentional to enhance Harriet’s character especially, but I felt it was played into a little too much at times.
Where The Greatest Hits truly shines is in how it depicts grief and how we deal with it in various ways. Apart from an ending that I think muddied the message a bit, there’s a great deal made in how each character processes their grief in unique ways and the development of David and Harriet works well.
Final Thoughts
The Greatest Hits may not be a perfect movie, but it has enough uniqueness going for it that it rises above its flaws. Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min are both very good actors that do well here, even if their chemistry is hit or miss at points. It’s worth watching at the very least for how cool the concept is.
