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Most moviegoers know Melissa McCarthy for her larger-than-life characters in outrageous comedies. But, just in time for award season, she takes on a completely different kind of role as a troubled writer who comes up with a clever criminal venture in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Can You Ever Forgive Me? tells the true story of Lee Israel (McCarthy), a celebrity biographer whose books were well-received throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. By the early ‘90s, however, she had hit rock bottom. She’d lost her job, and her agent wouldn’t return her calls. But then, by chance, she discovered that there was a lot of money to be made by selling letters from literary figures. And, with help from her friend Jack (Richard E. Grant), she began making a living by forging letters and selling them to collectors.
This dark and quirky biopic is definitely a change of pace for McCarthy, who, in recent years, has generally favored wild, over-the-top (and, often, obnoxious) comedies. That’s not to say that this is a dry, somber film; it’s actually surprisingly humorous in a smarter, subtler way. McCarthy’s Lee is a bitter, desperate character with a general distaste for the rest of the human race, and she expresses her disgust through lines filled with insults and sarcasm. She’s socially awkward and verbally abusive to those who haven’t entirely abandoned her—yet, underneath it all, McCarthy gives her just the right amount of humanity. And that’s enough to keep audiences from writing her off.
Really, this kind of comedy isn’t that much of a stretch for the talented comic, but it’s definitely a welcome change—and it’s the funniest she’s been in years. Together with Richard E. Grant, who often steals scenes with his delightful flamboyance as Lee’s only friend, McCarthy makes this film so much more than just another award season biopic.
Lee’s story, meanwhile, is fascinating. While she failed to make a name for herself as a writer because she always lost herself in her subject, that’s exactly what made her such a successful forger. And you can’t help but admire her nerve, her commitment, and her sheer determination to survive in the Big Apple.
Even if you’ve given up on Melissa McCarthy’s comedies, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is still worth checking out. It’s an oddly captivating biography—and, as it turns out, Award Season Melissa McCarthy is a whole lot more entertaining than Summer Comedy Melissa McCarthy.
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