Now Streaming: THE DROP, Baby Humor Is in the Eye of the Beholder

It's not you, it's me.

The Drop
The film is now streaming on Hulu.

Sarah Adina Smith made a name for herself with The Midnight Swim (2014), a dreamy, ethereal film that augured a bright future for the director. Unfortunately, in my humorless, personal, 'don't understand the kids these days' opinion, she comes a cropper with her latest effort, co-written with Josh Leonard, who appears as a member of the supporting ensemble.

Smith retains her ability to craft a good-looking picture, enhanced by shimmering cinematography by Shaheen Seth, a valued collaborator on all of Smith's past features, including Buster's Mal Heart (2016) and Birds of Paradise (2018). The light and airy framing, combined with the tropical island setting, certainly creates an atmosphere that is ripe for a comedy built around the central idea of ... a woman who accidentally drops a baby.

If you laughed, or giggled, or guffawed at the premise, then this might be your type of comedy, one in which a group of unlikely friends, who appear to be united in their unlikability, head off for a long weekend to celebrate the wedding of two of them. The friends are just trying to relax when Lex (Anna Konkle), distracted by an insect, drops the baby from her arms to the pavement below. Ha ha (?!).

It puts a damper on the weekend, for sure, and causes her husband Mani (Jermaine Fowler) to question if he really wants to continue trying to conceive a child with her. The other people, their supposed friends, have their own issues, one of which is figuring out how they now feel about Lex: was The Drop an accident, or could it have been intentional?

Comedies are always tricky to review, since bitter experience has taught me that there is no such thing as a universal sense of humor. Some things that I find funny might appall and/or disturb you. Nothing in The Drop struck me, personally, as funny, which made watching all 93 minutes a drag. Your mileage may vary.

Now Streaming covers international and indie genre films and TV shows that are available on legal streaming services.