Tribeca 2024: The Everything Pot Explores What It Takes To Sustain A Healthy Relationship In The Most Chaotic Way
Sherise Dorf’s directorial debut The Everything Pot premiered at Tribeca Festival 2024 and follows the life of Rachel (Lisa Edelstein) after her daughter goes away to college. After receiving a young couple's wedding invitation, she eagerly sends a gift way too early and the comedic events that unfold threaten both her own marriage and the other couple.
At its core, the film explores the theme of marital ennui by contrasting an older couple who's been married for years and a young couple just starting their lives together. Dorf does an amazing job at connecting these two couples to make the chaos flow. When Charlie (James Wolk) insists on inviting Rachel to the wedding, Clare (Delaney Rowe) becomes increasingly skeptical of his “aquaintance” past with Rachel due to her excitement. This decision ultimately leads both couples to address their issues with one another and determine whether they are even right for each other. I love Dorf’s message that no matter what stage you are in a relationship you both have to work together to keep things interesting if you truly love each other and value the relationship. Often times, people find themselves in a relationship where all the effort is put into the beginning then slowly fades as the relationship grows. I also enjoyed that Dorf chose to spotlight an older couple’s exoerience with this, still making it as fun and fresh as teen and young adult relationships in film.
The actors are so incredibly talented and really shine in The Everything Pot. I was in complete awe in how Edelstein managed to capture the sensibilities of Rachel, as well as bounce off Erik Griffin’s portrayal of Adam. They really felt like a couple who had been married for over 20 years. The jokes, the banter, the way they argue, and the way they embrace each other felt very natural and propelled the story forward. I was also impressed by Rowe’s performance in her acting debut. I recognized her from her skits on TikTok and always thought she was incredibly funny. Seeing her range in this film just solidified her talent. There are times where you root for her and other times where you question how far she will take it. All of those moments are a joy to watch unfold into a chaotic mess of trust issues and a lack of communication.
Throughout the film, I could not stop laughing at the most ridiculous scenes. There’s Rachel accidentally sending more messages to Clare and Charlie’s invite, Adam getting annoyed at Rachel for turning the TV off every five seconds, and Clare and Charlie fighting over a suspicious white stain on his sweater. My favorite moment had to be Adam’s relentless insistence on knowing where The Everything Pot went. I just kept laughing every time he would stand up to ask where the pot was in the midst of trying to hash out what happened between all of them. Griffin offers that comedic relief in those semi-serious moments and you can’t help but love it.
The Everything Pot is unabashedly honest about mid-life crises in marriage, finding your true identity, and what it takes to sustain a healthy relationship. The use of comedy makes the film’s message easy to resonate with and will keep you entertained along the way.
