The Stream: Repetitive and takes too long to get to the inevitable

The Big Screen: Intriguing premise with a good mix of comedy and thrills

The Final Bill: Interesting set up, slow middle, but it brings it home in the end.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Mimi Cave
Writers: Lauryn Kahn
Stars: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sebastian Stan, Jojo T. Gibbs
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Production Companies: Fox Searchlight Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, Hyperobject Industries
Platform: Hulu released March 4, 2022

Hey, Streamers! There’s a lot of content out there, so there is no shortage of movies or television to watch. How do we sort through it all?!?! I guess you just scroll for hours and hours, or you come here and see what we suggest. For this weekend, if you are looking for something new and interesting to watch, check out Fresh on Hulu. Fresh premiered at the Sundance Festival earlier this year with some interesting reactions. Here’s whether Fresh is ripe for the picking.

Fresh is a mash-up of a couple different genres: romantic comedy, horror and thriller. It begins with Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who has been unlucky in love. Noa is suffering through the modern dating scene. She has bad experiences with online dating and is ready to give up. A chance encounter with witty and charming stranger, Steve (Sebastian Stan), turns things around. Noa embarks on a new relationship with Steve as she is smitten beyond belief, but love isn’t always what it seems. Unexpected twists and turns challenge the relationship’s freshness.

The premise of Fresh is brimming with a lot of potential. Who hasn’t been on bad dates that feel like a horror movie, right? The plot synopsis intentionally hides the ball, so that the audience can be as surprised as Noa and Steve are in their relationship. The problem is that the movie stalls once these twists are revealed, and then you have 40 minutes, or so, to wait for the resolution. And boy does the freshness of the movie get tested in those extra 40 minutes. I will say that Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan do a good job keeping your attention throughout the movie. They are able to harness the tension of the situation and add a punch to this romantic comedy/thriller. They have good chemistry together and are believable as this potential couple. Sebastian Stan is going all out in this role as he’s funny, charming and creepy, (I usually think Sebastian Stan is creepy, so that wasn’t a big leap).

Ultimately, Fresh is an interesting premise that has a good set up, a slow middle portion, and a thrilling finale. You won’t look at dating the same way after watching this movie. The central cast is good enough in their roles to harness romantic chemistry and uncertain tension and Sebastian Stan is particularly good in this flick. If you are looking for a fresh perspective on dating, then this movie gives you something to chew on. Grab your love and a bow of popcorn for this one.