British ventriloquist Nina Conti directs and stars in this darkly comic buddy film. The film follows Jane (Conti) as she escapes a toxic relationship and adopts a new persona in a monkey costume. As she crosses paths with suicidal radio jockey Roy (co-writer Shenoah Allen), these social misfits embark on a life-changing road trip.
Ventriloquist Nina Conti shines in her directorial debut. For years, Nina Conti has established her brand of observational humor with puppet friends like Monkey. Now, the recurring character in her stand-up routines gets adopted as a human-sized persona with Conti's Jane in costume for most of the film's runtime. But this is no furry gimmick as the debutant director adds enough earnestness to Jane's unconventional identity. And coupled with a cynically funny lost soul, Shenoah Allen's Roy, Sunlight turns into a touching exploration of societal expectations. The road trip isn't just a means for them to find a wholesome friendship but also to escape to a utopia where they can perhaps truly live freely like monkeys. And with some sun-drenched desert photography in the backdrop, Sunlight comes off as a feel-good lovechild of Thelma & Louise and Little Miss Sunshine.
Crude humor, furry costumes, and a whimsical sense of escapism. Despite its bittersweet emotionality, Sunlight also doesn't shy away from its moments of goofy, crude humour (many of which were improvised between co-stars Conti and Allen). A particularly stand-out sequence is when Roy quizzes Jane how many "holes" she has in her body as a monkey. The resulting answers prompt the duo to break into an annoyingly catchy "Holes song" that's akin to the trashy brilliance of a Weird Al Yankovic or Jack Black musical number. Their friendly banter and awkwardly hilarious sexual chemistry consume most of the runtime, but the crude back-and-forth never feels tiresome or cringeworthy. Trading puppet shows for the director's chair, Conti doesn't revolutionize the road trip genre with Sunlight. The story leans heavily on tried-and-tested tropes toward a predictable conclusion. But when your oddball protagonists are this genuinely unique and empathetic, this summer comedy still manages to surprise as a delightful tale of friendship and second chances.
A refreshing road trip heavy on crude humor, "monkey" business, and an oddly wholesome friendship.
