In an adaptation of the off-beat 2012 novel by Maria Semple, Bernadette (Cate Blanchett) looks like an odd cross between Anna Wintour and Joan Didion. When we first see Bernadette on screen, she’s canoeing a quiet water body of Antarctica amidst glaciers and tranquility.
Her mundane ‘real’ life is that of a highly regarded architect who hasn’t designed as much as a birdhouse for many years. She’s frustrated by her neighbor, Audrey (Kristen Wiig) a perpetual nature freak, composting and tree-hugging and annoying the hell out of Bernadette in all her gratitude. Then there’s Bernadette’s perfect daughter (Emma Nelson) accepted at the prestigious east coast Choate. Bernadette’s husband (Billy Crudup) isn’t so bad either. He’s a generic I.T. Guru who gives TED talks. A family of perfectly coiffed geniuses…so what exactly is the problem?
In this Richard Linklater film from a man who usually directs softer and contained subjects like Boyhood, something seems off beat. Is it one big therapy session? Bernadette’s therapist, btw, is portrayed by Judy Greer a talented actor who never quite made her mark in films as a star.
Nevertheless, we juggle Bernadette’s neurosis and looney tendencies for two hours before a somewhat appealing ending offers a solution. Of sorts. While Blanchett is an accomplished show stealer on screen, this character is not. Blanchett forces some overacting to deliver the goods that aren’t there in the first place. It’s almost repetitive of her former role in Carol, about a 50s housewife stuck in life and falling for a store clerk at Christmas.
There was a lot of rain/on-cue foul weather in Carol and there’s a lot of rain in this. It’s Seattle, after all. A meteorologist and director’s dream, all made to parallel the dismal water-logged world of Bernadette. Quite honestly, at a certain point you’re relieved her daughter will explore her teenage years cross-country rather than live with the likes of Bernadette. And that’s the problem. Where’d You Go Bernadette – minus a question mark – begs us to answer, “We really don’t care!” 2 tiaras