Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Max Buy Dakota Johnson Sundance Comedy Am I OK? (EXCLUSIVE)

Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max have nabbed “Am I OK?,” a romantic comedy starring Dakota Johnson as a woman grappling with her sexuality. The movie premiered this week to positive reviews at the virtual Sundance Film Festival.

Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne co-directed “Am I OK?,” which was written by Lauren Pomerantz and produced by Picturestart, Gloria Sanchez Productions and Johnson’s TeaTime Pictures.

The film will premiere on HBO Max at a yet-to-be-determined date.

“Am I OK?” follows 32-year-old Lucy (Johnson), who lives in Los Angeles and figures out later in life that the reason her dates with the opposite gender never end with anything more than a handshake is because, well, she’s not attracted to men. With the help of her life-long friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno), Lucy attempts to navigate coming out in her 30s. The story is loosely based on Pomerantz’s own life.

The cast also includes Jermaine Fowler, Kiersey Clemons, Molly Gordon and Sean Hayes. Johnson, Notaro, Allyene and Pomerantz produced “Am I OK?” along with Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Erik Feig, Lucy Kitada and Ro Donnelly. Executive producers were Alex Brown, Royce Reeves Darby and Shayne Fiske.

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In Variety’s review of the film, critic Amy Nicholson praised the on-screen dynamic between the two female leads. “Johnson and Mizuno do have great repartee,” Nicholson wrote. “They’re both quick with a prickly quip.”

The Atlantic’s Shirley Li described the film as “breezily charming,” adding, “It won me over for its layered study of a close female friendship and the power such relationships can hold, even when they fracture.”

Johnson, who also starred in the Sundance crowd pleaser “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” said she found herself drawn to the raw emotion under the film’s comedic surface.

“It’s a story and subject matter that I thought was really cool, in the shape of a female buddy comedy, but there’s some very real and honest and difficult internal landscapes happening within these women,” Johnson said at Variety’s Sundance Studio.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival — which is running online through Jan. 30 — sales had been slow to heat up, but they have been gaining traction as the 10-day gathering nears its end. Other buzzy titles that have been purchased include “Cha Cha Real Smooth” to Apple TV Plus, “Living” to Sony Pictures Classics, and “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” to Searchlight and Hulu.

UTA Independent Film Group brokered the deal for “Am I OK?.”

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Larita Shotwell

Update: 2024-04-07

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