Life in the big city can be difficult. There is always something to do and an anxious storm of stress seems to be looming in between the skyscrapers and tenements. These feelings are navigated in the new movie Notice to Quit which goes into the life of 10-year-old Ana as she navigates New York in a last-ditch effort to stay with her dad once she learns from her mom of the news: A big move to Orlando, Florida.
This bittersweet Comedy arrives in theaters on Friday, September 27, 2024, through Whiskey Creek and is from Director/Producer Simon Hacker. His debut feature film, Notice to Quit stars Michael Zegen (Marvelous Mrs. Maisel series, The Penguin miniseries) as Andy Singer, and Kasey Bella Suarez (You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah 2023, Your Monster 2024) as Anna. This main duo is a father and daughter who struggle to make things work as time is running out for them.
For Andy, his apartment and job are on the line, for Anna it is her final day to see her father and visit the zoo before going away. Both characters have high stakes and as the day unravels their missions build and crumble in unforeseen ways. From here, the movie is a hectic journey through New York that never stops. While this leads to a lot of excitement and virtually zero lulls in action, the movie is unable to rest. Save for the final few minutes which take the time to build and respect the profound emotions they have created, the important, intense, or emotional scenes seem to be swept away into something new before they can fully take effect. With this in mind, Notice to Quit has three separate storylines and one can only develop so far before it is dropped in favor of something new and exciting on the street begging for attention.
Luckily, this leads to a lot of hilarious moments that coalesce as perfect coincidences. One after another they build up a funny movie that is filled with serious personalities. Even though each character is attacking the day with important business and a mature outlook on life, the hilarity of two things, a child’s life and a sweltering hot day infects their responsibilities and results in constant mishaps. The heat is a recurring character of its own in the film, it may be an attempt to slow it down or just a constant reminder that the world around Andy and Anna is against them, but it is a theme that cannot be missed for better or worse.
Overall, Notice to Quit is a funny movie and there is plenty of dry humor, but it does not shy away from the loneliness and problems Anna has to deal with while unable to live with her morally irresponsible and fiscally failing father. These moments only exist when Anna is alone, the loud personality of Andy quickly takes over whenever he is on the screen. Anna attempts to solve his failings as an adult with her understanding and although she rarely ever gets things right, she is the perfect sidekick to Andy, who needs a friend more than anything else in a city that is quickly eating him alive.
An interesting note that returns to pacing, Notice to Quit takes place all in one day from the morning start with her mother to the late-night ending with her father, Anna goes through one of the most hectic days imaginable. It is a little outlandish at times, especially with all the ground covered in New York. There are so many different locations Anna and Andy go to that they begin to feel like they are teleporting across the city for the sake of time. There is only one scene on the subway and while it does a good job of building the plot and slowing the pace of the movie, there are not enough of these scenes to make a profound difference in the constant pace of the film.
In the end, Notice to Quit has a sizable amount of action in a short amount of time. While it does a good job of coming to a respectable ending, it leaves a lot of loose ends and feels unfinished. Many of the story arcs are not revisited and if they are, they are used as a scapegoat to complete the film rather than a purposeful part of the story. Nonetheless, Cryptic Rock gives 3 out of 5 stars.
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