There’s a lot to be said about mental health – and here, specifically, obsessive-compulsive disorder – within the short minutes of Just Right. So much so that you can’t help but wish Camille Wormser‘s charmingly off-centred comedy was expanded to feature length, but, as it stands, it’s no less funny and affecting as a commentary on such an affliction and how it can determine someone’s existence.
After waking up from a bizarre dream where she envisioned herself running down the street in a duck costume, Mel (Wormser, a comedic delight) takes it upon herself to do something different with her day. Roommate Kyle (Jake Dvorsky, an exciting talent who makes the blank stare an art form) has extended the invitation to hang out with him and his friends, and though he’s a little sceptical at her agreeing to do so, given she has her own daily routines to follow, he holds faith that she’ll abide by the 1pm leaving curfew he has enforced, lest he hang out with his friends without her.
Given how utterly charming Wormser is as a performer, which by extension lends itself to creating an entirely endearing personality for Mel, it’s all too easy to fall for Just Right as a whole. The very real, and crippling to many, reality of OCD and what it encompasses is never presented as anything other than truthful (if, perhaps, a little heightened for some comedic effect) and because Wormser is never laughing at it – she, herself, as a neurodivergent talent that has been diagnosed with OCD – it allows us an audience to indulge in the film’s comedic commentary.
Though there’s many brief sequences on hand that play to the humorous possibilities of having OCD – one scene where she attempts to order a coffee and partake in small talk is utterly hilarious – Just Right grounds itself with the subtle commentary on how friendships and understanding relationships are so wonderfully vital in keeping one’s mental health at bay.
A beautiful showcase for a talent worthy of her comedic gifts being seen as far and as wide as possible, Just Right encompasses all that is good and pure about performers utilising their platform for good. In spite of her own obstacles, Wormser is worth making the time for.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Just Right is screening as part of this year’s Slamdance Film Festival, running physically between January 20th and 26th, 2023, and virtually between January 23rd and 29th. For more information head to the official Slamdance Film Festival page.
