‘Smile… the Worse is Yet to Come’ Review: A Surprisingly Honest Look at Love and Growing Older
There’s something uniquely terrifying about reaching a point in adulthood and realizing that the life you’re living looks nothing like the one you imagined. Careers stall, relationships change, and the dreams that once seemed inevitable slowly become increasingly difficult to reach. Smile… The Worst Is Yet to Come taps into those anxieties with a surprisingly honest examination of marriage, disappointment, and the uncomfortable realities of getting older.
Directed by Chloe Lenihan and co-written by Lenihan and Joseph Mancuso, the independent dramedy centers on Ben (Mancuso) and Birdie (Elizabeth Masucci), a married couple whose relationship has begun to buckle under the weight of failed IVF attempts and abandoned ambitions.
A weekend getaway to Big Bear Lake is intended to reignite their dwindling connection, but an unexpected encounter with a pair of younger social media influencers forces the couple to confront truths they’ve spent years avoiding.
Smile… the Worst is Yet to Come thrives through its relatable characters
The limited resources are apparent, but Smile… The Worst Is Yet to Come wisely focuses on what matters most: its characters. Mancuso and Masucci share a believable chemistry that allows the relationship to feel lived-in rather than manufactured for the screen.
Their frustrations aren’t built around some grand cinematic betrayal, but around the accumulation of disappointments and compromises that can slowly reshape a relationship over time. There’s an authenticity to those quieter moments that helps the movie overcome some limitations inherent to independent filmmaking.
The story most succeeds in its relatability. As I quickly approach the dark, deafening void that is my 40th birthday and find that the gray hairs in my beard have multiplied like a water-soaked Mogwai every morning, I grapple with the existential crisis that accompanies growing older. It’s not out of dissatisfaction with my life. I’m quite happy. It’s just an overwhelming uncertainty that’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint.
I recognize that struggle in Ben and Birdie. Mancuso and Masucci bring their characters and their relationship to life with honesty and earnestness. Their love feels real, but a strong relationship requires more than just love to thrive, and communication is often among the biggest hurdles.
Aside from Ben and Birdie, we have Jerek (Ethan Jones Romero) and January (Krystina Alabado). They’re the younger, social media-crazed couple intended to add a spark to Ben and Birdie’s floundering relationship with insights and viewpoints they haven’t yet explored.
These are characters we’ve seen before and seen often. They’re young, quirky, and obsessed with their phones, but surprisingly in touch with their emotions and capable of providing guidance and unique perspectives.
As characters, they feel far less developed and genuine than Ben and Birdie. Their purpose is immediately clear, and they largely exist within the constraints of a very familiar cliché. When there are only four characters in the story, having two of them feel less authentic isn’t ideal, but the script and the film’s emotional core are strong enough to overcome the minor setback.
The main setting’s influence on the film’s story and characters
While we see multiple locations early in Smile… The Worst is Yet To Come, the bulk of the story unfolds in a single setting: Big Bear, California. It’s a gorgeous backdrop that serves both the film’s visual aesthetic and the storyline. By placing Ben and Birdie in an idyllic but confined location, they’re forced to confront the more difficult elements of their relationship that they’ve been glossing over.
The introduction of the younger couple serves as a catalyst, bringing those confrontations to the forefront. As with many independent films with a small budget, there are limitations; however, those constraints aren’t always negative. In the capable hands of Chloe Lenihan and a talented cast, they help give the film a raw authenticity that perfectly coincides with its themes.
Small-scale works to the advantage of Smile… the Worst is Yet to Come
This film has no interest in large-scale spectacle or fabricating a climactic event. Instead, it spends its modest runtime crafting genuine moments. Through scenes of humor and heartfelt expression, the audience is pulled into the story and asked to sit with the same uncomfortable realizations that its characters are.
It is funny, but not in the sense of a traditional comedy. The jokes don’t stem from outrageous coincidences or extraordinary misunderstandings. Instead, they come from the realistic moments shared between two people who are comfortable enough with each other to be themselves but perhaps not comfortable enough to accept their own misgivings.
Smile… The Worst Is Yet to Come isn’t without the rough edges that accompany independent filmmaking, but there’s a sincerity beneath them that carries the film. Lenihan understands that getting older isn’t frightening because life suddenly falls apart; it’s frightening because we slowly realize how little control we’ve ever had over where it takes us.
Anchored by the believable relationship between Mancuso and Masucci, it’s a funny, heartfelt examination of learning to accept the life you have while still mourning the one you imagined.
For more information about Smile… The Worst is Yet To Come, please visit the official website.
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