Kyra Sedgwick
Cynthia Rand
Overview
Cynthia Rand is a buttoned-up New Yorker married to a brilliant professor 25 years her senior. She begins feeling the effects of her husband’s advancing age on their relationship, just as her world is turned upside down by the arrival of sharp but chronically underachieving security guard Stan Olszewski in this smart rom-com that reunites Bacon and Sedgwick on screen for the first time in 20 years.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
3 min readThe Messy Art of Starting Over
Very early on, Michael J. Weithorn’s The Best You Can tells you exactly what kind of odd little movie it wants to be. Stan (Kevin Bacon), a security guard with a long history of underachieving, is stretched out on an exam table, anxious, exposed, latestnetflix.com maintains, and staring up at the ceiling.
His doctor, Cynthia (Kyra Sedgwick), pulls on a latex glove with the brisk indifference of someone who has no time left for embarrassment. Yes, the scene is a prostate exam. Yes, the movie uses it as a meet-cute.
And yes, there is something deeply weird and oddly sweet about watching a couple married for 36 years turn that particular indignity into romantic setup.
Weithorn comes out of sitcom architecture—The King of Queens is all over his creative DNA—and you can feel how naturally he knows how to land a joke. What’s more interesting is how hard he pushes away from the safety net of sitcom rhythm here. The Best You Can is really about aging without the flattering filter: the claustrophobia of a life that has started to contract around you.
Cynthia’s husband Warren (Judd Hirsch, genuinely devastating) used to be a brilliant Watergate prosecutor. Now dementia is slowly erasing him in plain sight. Stan, on the other hand, has drifted into his fifties with a strained relationship to his musician daughter (Brittany O’Grady) and a younger girlfriend who mistakes his restlessness for vitality.
They are stranded in very different kinds of loneliness, and somehow manage to meet in the overlap.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.3/10
"A heartfelt but modest midlife dramedy powered by warm performances and chemistry more than by its uneven, predictable script."
Emotional honesty, the handling of dementia, and the connection between the two leads land strongly for many, with some calling it a feel-good, life-affirming watch that leaves them grateful and moved. latestnetflix.com's view is that Others find the tone wobbly between comedy and drama, with contrived plotting, side-stories that distract from the core relationship, and an overall experience that feels pleasant but forgettable once it ends.
What viewers praise
- Convincing lead chemistry Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are frequently praised for a natural, lived-in rapport that makes their relationship easy to invest in.
- Heartfelt and humane tone The story about flawed adults, aging, and second chances is described as warm, compassionate, and emotionally honest rather than saccharine.
- Effective dementia storyline Scenes involving the older husband’s cognitive decline and its impact on family life feel truthful and hit hard for viewers with similar real-life experiences.
- Strong supporting turns Judd Hirsch’s portrayal of an elderly husband and Brittany O’Grady’s mix of acting and singing earn specific praise for adding depth and texture.
- Satisfying emotional payoff Several viewers single out the ending and closing musical moments as a gratifying, cathartic way to wrap up the characters’ journeys.
Common complaints
- Tonal inconsistency The film often seems unsure whether it wants to be a light romantic comedy or a serious drama, leading to clunky humor and jarring shifts in mood.
- Predictable, safe plotting The central relationship arc and character beats follow familiar patterns without many surprises or deeper exploration.
- Contrived subplots Multiple side-stories and extra threads feel unnecessary or undercooked, adding length without meaningful payoff.
- Occasionally weak dialogue Some stretches of banter and emotional exchanges come off as forced or overly frenzied instead of sharp and natural.
- Limited lasting impact Even positive viewers describe it as light, cute, or pleasant rather than something that lingers in the mind for long.
Recommended for
Character-focused romantic dramedy fans Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick admirers Stories about aging and dementia Bittersweet feel-good movie seekers Low-key indie romance viewers
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsThey lied to the director, then told PEOPLE.
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick have been married since 1988. Michael J. Weithorn asked them not to rehearse together for The Best You Can, their first shared film since Cavedweller and The Woodsman in 2004. He told Entertainment Weekly he wanted them to prepare "completely separate as if they were not going to be performing with their spouse." latestnetflix.com's read is that he put Sedgwick in a wig so Bacon might see a stranger.
,
At the Tribeca Q&A on 7 June 2025, Bacon spilled. "Michael thinks that, but that's not what actually happened," he told PEOPLE. "We totally lied to him and said we were going to do that." Sedgwick added that they live together, so of course they ran lines. Bacon joked the director's world would come crashing down when he heard.
That is the item. A 22-day Brooklyn shoot under the working title Connescence, and the married leads quietly ignored the one rule meant to keep them from looking married on camera. 
Sedgwick also said the breakup scene crossed over. She knew Cynthia would be emotional. Then she felt a private "what if this had happened" about her own marriage. "Instead of what happened, which is that we're still together," she told PEOPLE, "I got very emotional about it." Thirty-six years in, and a scripted split still landed.
Deadline had the January 2024 exclusive. Fibonacci Films. Principal photography starting that week. Bacon as Stan Olszewski, a sharp, chronically underachieving security guard who breaks up a robbery at the home of urologist Cynthia Rand. Judd Hirsch as Warren Rand, a former Watergate prosecutor sliding into dementia. Brittany O'Grady as Stan's daughter Sammi. Sedgwick and Bacon said they were "so excited to work together on screen again for the first time in 20 years in such a funny, moving and original script." Weithorn wrote and directed. He is the King of Queens guy.
The film premiered in Tribeca's Spotlight Narrative on 7 June 2025, 103 minutes. Sony skipped a theatrical run and dumped it to digital and disc on 25 November. What's on Netflix logged the U.S. Netflix window as 25 December 2025, part of Sony's first-window deal, 18 months. Variety called it an unassuming dramedy that feels comfortingly sweet because of the couple's ease. ScreenRant later put it at number 7 on Netflix's U.S. movie chart, with an 85 percent Tomatometer on a thin 13 reviews. , , 
,
TMDB still files Hirsch as Walter Rand. The trades, Sony, and the festival copy all say Warren. The movie itself is the gossip now. Two people who have spent decades in the same house tried to play strangers, lied about the homework, and still sold a Christmas film about a urologist, a security guard, and a husband who is starting to forget.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.
Movies
Similar Movies
Related titles ranked by rating and popularity.
