''Ode to Joy'' is a 2019 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film starring

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

and

Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born 2 June 1979) is a Brazilian actress known for portraying Inara Serra in the sci-fi series ''Firefly'' and its follow-up film ''Serenity'', Vanessa in the superhero comedy franchise ''Deadpool'', Jess ...

. The film premiered at the 2019 RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was released theatrically on August 9, 2019.

Plot

Charlie (

) is a Brooklyn-based librarian in his forties suffering from

cataplexy Cataplexy is a sudden and transient episode of muscle weakness accompanied by full conscious awareness, typically triggered by emotions such as laughing, crying, or terror. Cataplexy affects approximately 70% of people who have narcolepsy, and i ...

, causing him to faint whenever he experiences strong emotions, especially joy. Upon meeting the charming and free-spirited Francesca (

), Charlie falls in love but sets her up with his brother Cooper ( Jake Lacy) instead because of his condition.

Cast

as Charlie, Cooper’s brother *

as Francesca, Sylvia’s niece * Jake Lacy as Cooper, Charlie's brother *

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

as Sylvia, Francesca’s aunt *

Melissa Rauch Melissa Ivy Rauch (born June 23, 1980) is an American actress, model and comedian. She is known for playing Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'', for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Tele ...

as Bethany * Shannon Woodward as Liza *

Hayes MacArthur Hayes MacArthur (born April 16, 1977) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He starred in the TBS comedy series '' Angie Tribeca''. Early life MacArthur was born in Chicago to Bruce and Shelley MacArthur. His stepfather is businessman ...

as Jordan * Ellis Rubin as Victor

Production

The film is based on a true story by Chris Higgins originally aired on ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...

''.

Reception

References

External links

* * *
This American Life segment that inspired the film
{{TAL 2019 films 2019 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films Films set in Brooklyn 2010s American films English-language romantic comedy films