Review: Scott Speedman in Barefoot

Andrew Fleming (The In-Laws, Hamlet 2) directs Barefoot – a romantic comedy with an intriguing premise, but one that is executed in the most conventional way possibly.

Psychiatric hospital janitor Jay (Scott Speedman) is the black sheep of his wealthy family – preferring to frequent strip clubs with his parent’s cash than to work in the family business. He soon meets vulnerable patient Daisy (Evan Rachel Wood) who was raised in isolation by her psychotic mother, with the pair forming an immediate bond. Jay soon ropes Daisy into coming to a family wedding and posing as his respectable girlfriend in order to pretend to his family that he is settling down.

Stephen Zotnowski’s screenplay initially approaches the romcom from an interesting angle – it is not often that genre intertwines with subject of mental health. However, this unconventional take does not stick around for too long as when Jay and Daisy make their way to the wedding formula takes over the narrative – and Daisy becomes less mentally ill and more ‘quirky’. Despite the originality fading off there is still some fun to be had with light-hearted Barefoot.