Twenty-six year old Lucy Gulliver (Geraldine Viswanathan, Miracle Workers) has always loved art, which is what led her to move to New York City for college 8 years earlier. Now she works as an assistant to Eva Woolf (Bernadette Peters), the owner of large art gallery, is dating co-worker Max (Utkarsh Ambudkar, The Mindy Project), and lives in an apartment with her two childhood best friends. Amanda (Molly Gordon, Animal Kingdom) is attending law school, and lives with longtime boyfriend Jeff (Nathan Dales, Letterkenny), who never actually speaks, but always seems to have so much to say. And Nadine (Phillipa Soo, Hamilton, Smash) is a model, who is constantly having quick, meaningless physical relationships with inappropriate women. These three friends have always been there for one another, to help one each other through life’s stumbles and failed relationships.

After she has an embarrassing public break-up that also costs her her job, Lucy ends up crossing paths with single guy Nick (Dacre Montgomery, Stranger Things), who couldn’t be more opposite of her in personality. While Lucy is a bit wild and crazy, Nick is more straight-laced and serious. He has been working on renovating and launching a new hotel for the past 5 years, and he and his business partner Marcos (Arturo Castro, Broad City) are quickly running out of funds. However, Lucy and Nick might just be exactly what the other one needs to get them through their emotional and financial struggles. Nick could use some free labor, while Lucy could use a space to explore her artistic side.

Lucy has always been a bit of a hoarder when it comes to her relationships—over the years she has amassed a huge collection of literal baggage, saving random knickknacks and mementos from dates and boyfriends past. While trying to figure out what to do with all this junk, Lucy accidentally stumbles upon the perfect outlet that could be not only healing for her, but also for the many other heartbroken New Yorkers who have emotional and physical baggage holding them back. Lucy decides to turn the upper level of Nick’s hotel into a Broken Heart Gallery, where people can come to unburden themselves and finally move on. The gallery is a place where the heartbroken can document their stories of heartache and leave behind those relationship mementos they’ve been needlessly holding onto, while also leaving their personal mark on the gallery in the process.

The Broken Hearts Gallery is a charming and delightful romantic comedy, that combines broad, physical humor, with smart, witty writing and well-defined and developed characters and relationships. The film takes some really sweet, heartfelt turns along the way, and always keeps the viewer smiling. Lucy is this wild, somewhat dorky, but always earnest young woman who is struggling to get over her latest breakup. Meanwhile, Nick is this guy who has experienced some heartbreak of his own, but is more concentrated on his business than looking for love. When this wild, crazy force of Lucy enters his life, he decides to just go along for the ride and see what happens. These two become fast, unlikely friends, who start to open up and change one another’s lives—even before there is any romantic notion between them. As the film follows the adventures of Nick and Lucy, we also meet some of the quirky folks who show up to leave their mementos at the gallery, and hear their sometimes odd, heart-breaking, or heartwarming stories.

Geraldine Viswanathan really shines as Lucy, playing both goofy and romantic leading lady perfectly. The actress’ previous roles in Blockers and Miracle Workers had shown that she has great comedic timing, but she really delivers that in droves in this film. Lucy has over-the-top emotions that can turn on a time, and Viswanathan doesn’t miss a comedic beat. Whether she’s delivering witty banter, playing drunk, or just being the sweet girl next door, the actress always makes you laugh, smile and care about Lucy, rooting for her to succeed. As for her romantic co-star, Dacre Montgomery, I had previously just seen him as the mulleted Billy on Stranger Things, so I never really thought of him as a rom-com lead. However, the chemistry that quickly forms between Nick and Lucy feels quite real, and the two play off of one another perfectly. The talented supporting cast also help to round out these two characters, give them more of a context, and add even more of a comedic punch. Lucy’s best friends are a riot, especially Amanda and her silent boyfriend Jeff, who delivers some of the funniest scenes without even saying a word. Amanda and Nadine are there to help pump Lucy back up when she’s overwhelmed by her breakup, and it really feels like these characters have been friends all their lives. Meanwhile, we also get to see what Nick is like through his friends. Marcos quickly forms this really sweet, fun friendship with Lucy and is the one who encourages Nick to give her a chance—he sees the potential she has to improve the life of his lonely best friend.

Sony’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, with a clean, detailed picture that really captures the beauty of the film’s New York locale. The audio track provides clear dialogue, while also utilizing the surround and stereo channels to bring out the sounds of the city and make the film feel a bit more immersive. Unfortunately, the release includes under 5 minutes of bonus material—a gag reel and two brief character vignettes. The Blu-ray disc comes packed in a standard HD keepcase without a slipcover, and includes a Movies Anywhere-compatible HD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:48:51)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

• Gag Reel (2:32)
  The cast flub their lines, crack up, dance and have fun set.
• “Lucy” Vignette (:49)
  In this short promotional featurette, star Geraldine Viswanathan (“Lucy”) talks about her character.
• “Nick” Vignette (:48)
  In this short promotional featurette, star Dacre Montgomery (“Nick”) talks about his character.
• Previews (2:00)
  Trailer for Yellow Rose.

Final Thoughts:

The Broken Hearts Gallery is a hilarious and charming romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud throughout. I hope to see this talented cast leading more romantic comedies in the future—Geraldine Viswanathan is a pure delight and comedic genius. The Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but includes a disappointingly small amount of bonus material. However, the release still comes recommended based on the quality of the film itself. While no one is really going anywhere these days, this film makes for a perfect night at home…even if it’s just yourself curling up on the couch for some laughs.