Am I Ok? (lost Dakota Johnson romantic comedy; 2022)
Sonoya Mizuno and Dakota Johnson in "Am I Ok?"
Status: Lost
Am I Ok? is a 2022 romance and comedy film starring Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno, notable for being Tig Notaro and her wife Stephanie Allynne’s directorial debut. The film was written by Lauren Pomerantz and is loosely based on her own life, with Pomerantz being known for being a prolific writer on The Ellen Show and Saturday Night Live. The film premiered at the virtual edition of the Sundance Film Festival and was later picked up by Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max for distribution on what was then HBO Max (now Max).[1] However, despite various outlets reporting Am I Ok? was set to debut in the second half of 2022, the film never appeared on the streaming service and is currently lost.
Synopsis
The film follows Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a 32 year-old woman who is grappling with her burgeoning sexuality and her directionless nature in life. Her more grounded best friend, Jane (Sonoya Mizuno), gets the opportunity to move to London and it causes a rift in their relationship. The film follows Lucy with her first relationship with another woman at the massage clinic she works at, Brittany (Kiersey Clemons) as her and Jane grow farther apart after a fight and Jane continues to make plans with her boyfriend, Danny (Jermaine Fowler) and her eccentric coworker Kat (Molly Gordon) for her move. Lucy’s relationship eventually goes sour and she then makes up with Jane, repairing their friendship. The end of the film has Lucy driving Jane to the airport and sees them having a final lunch before Jane goes off to London.
Availability
Five days after the film’s premiere at Sundance, Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max acquired distribution rights to the film to release it on what was then HBO Max at a “yet-to-be-determined” date. There were reports of it debuting on August 11th or September 1st,[2] but on neither date did the film appear, likely due to massive cuts within Warner Bros. and HBO Max that led to many films and TV shows getting removed off the platform or otherwise scrapped in order to receive tax breaks for their “failed” programs. For example, the almost complete Batgirl film was fully scrapped[3] and originals of the HBO Max platform, like Genera+ion and Infinity Train[4], were removed entirely. As the film was not funded by Warner Bros. Pictures or any affiliates of HBO or Max, it’s possible it could be bought by another distributor and distributed that way. However, currently, the film is fully lost and only a handful of official stills remain.
On February 9th, 2024, Dakota Johnson stated as part of the promotion for her film Madame Web that Am I Ok? was slated for a release “sometime in the summer”[5]. Whoever she is asking off-screen about it says she is not allowed to share when it’s coming out. However, Dakota Johnson is known to lie frequently, calling lying to the press the “the most fun”[6]. That said, it cannot be fully known if the film will release within the summer or not, seeing as Johnson isn’t a fully reputable source.
Gallery
References
- ↑ [1], Initial acquisition by Warner Bros. and HBO Max.
- ↑ [2], One of the rumored dates the film was to be released.
- ↑ [3], News of Batgirl being scrapped very late into production.
- ↑ [4], A list of shows that were forcibly removed off of HBO Max.
- ↑ [5], An interview with Dakota Johnson and co-stars that briefly discusses the film (at (1:55).
- ↑ [6], Dakota Johnson on her love of lying.