The Greatest Hits Review: Solid Acting Chemistry Can’t Keep This Messy Time Traveling Romance Afloat

The Greatest Hits follows a once budding music producer, Harriet (Lucy Boynton), two years after a tragic car accident claimed the life of her boyfriend, Max (David Corenswet). The accident left her with a traumatic head injury that had an unusual consequence no medical professional can explain — she can time travel to specific moments in her relationship by listening to the songs that were playing in those situations. Hearing these songs instantly triggers Harriet and sends her back in time, where she desperately tries to alter reality and prevent her boyfriend’s death.

The premise is a somewhat new take on the time travel trope. Harriet has this ability that allows her to either relive key moments or change them, but The Greatest Hits’ goal is certainly not for her to obsess over changing things, right? She will eventually learn it is better to live, love, and remember these moments than to be emotionally tethered to the past, right? Typical as it may be, there is a profound, emotional lesson to be learned. However, writer-director Ned Benson loses the plot.

The Greatest Hits Never Hits The Right Notes

The Greatest Hits is a narrative mess. Aside from decent performances, the genuine love for music and its communal impact, and the soft, warm cinematography, the film falls apart with a flimsy, abhorrent script. The crux of the story is about overcoming grief and trying to reconcile what your deceased loved one would want for you versus what you want for them. If you could save someone from dying tragically, would you, even if it costs you something in return? The film boils down to this question and, shockingly, makes the wrong choices at every turn.

Harriet is an understandable character. She is a touch too stubborn with how she holds onto grief and desperately attempts to save Max from his inevitable fate. It’s thanks in large part to Boynton’s performance that we sympathize with her. However, Benson doesn’t follow the logical route that comes with having a new love interest step into her life. Rather than demand that she change or adjust to her new normal, David (Justin H. Min) is kind, understanding, and willing to walk alongside her as she tries to overcome her grief.

David is an ideal match for Harriet, with his interest in music and nostalgia aligning with hers and his intimate awareness of loss anchoring their relationship. David is the physical manifestation of an out for Harriet. It is an easy out, too, but she needs to recognize and seize it. Yet, Benson seems determined to fail his protagonist, the audience, and the budding relationship for a genuinely absurd choice that flies in the face of what should be the film’s core theme, which is that grief is temporary. There’s a way to move on when faced with a devastating loss.

The concept of saving someone from doom has been a staple in many time travel movies, but this film fails to get us to root for Harriet and Max in a way that makes us want to save him as desperately as she does. If anything, the film leads us in the other direction for so long, allowing Harriet and the audience to accept David as a suitable match. He is not just a rebound but a solid new path to love and a happy life, yet the film’s third act is frustratingly bad.

Lucy Boynton & Justin H. Min Nail The Romance Despite The Messy Story

Lucy Boynton is instrumental in making The Greatest Hits bearable. As Harriet navigates her grief, Boynton naturally conveys her character’s complicated emotions. The only mark against her performance is some of her stilted line delivery due to the nondescript American accent she sports. Perfecting an American accent has been an obstacle hindering many great performances, and Boynton is not one of the few who can overcome it.

Nevertheless, she does what she needs to do. Her chemistry with Austin Crute is nice to see, but more credit goes to Crute for being so alluring and charismatic. His character suffers from the Black best friend syndrome, making his role utterly useless once the romance with Justin H. Min’s David blossoms.

If it weren’t for Boynton’s sweet chemistry with Min, The Greatest Hits would be an absolute miss. But despite the actors having some truly endearing, emotional moments that give us what we want in a sappy romance, the movie falls short of being the sweeping romantic story we deserve. It is unfortunate to see good actors wasted on a premise that cannot be taken seriously. The Greatest Hits could’ve become an instant hit with romance fans, but the story choices just feel wrong. At least we have Min as a romantic lead, which is always enjoyable.