I’ll Be Right There is a sweet indie dramedy about a woman who puts her family’s needs above her own. Wanda (Edie Falco) is a bookkeeper at a bar, but her job as mom/daughter/ex-wife takes up just as much of her time. She’s constantly giving rides and emotional support to her pregnant and engaged daughter (Kayli Carter), her troubled son (Charlie Tahan), and her ailing mother (Jeannie Berlin). Her ex-husband (Bradley Whitford) has moved onto his new family but is still causing headaches since he doesn’t want to pay his half of their daughter’s wedding. Throughout the film, Wanda will learn to care for herself as much as she cares about others. But if you’re reading about this film on Autostraddle dot com, chances are the character growth is secondary among your interests. So, yes, Wanda is hooking up with a woman named Sophie, and, yes, she’s played by Sepideh Moafi who we all fell in love with during The L Word: Generation Q.

Alas, if you’re hoping this film is a lesbian romance, you’ll be disappointed. Wanda is not only hooking up with Sophie — she’s also dating her boss Marshall who is played by Michael Rapaport. I’ve found Rapaport difficult to watch for years due to his bigotry, a fact that has only increased in the past year as he’s gone beyond the already sickening casual Zionism of most of Hollywood opting for increasingly violent statements of support for Israel’s on-going genocide of Palestinians. Was this movie cast and filmed before these later statements were made? Sure. It still makes his scenes even more unbearable than they would’ve been otherwise.

Rapaport aside, the cast is what makes this movie. Falco is reliably excellent, Berlin is a legend for a reason, Moafi is as talented as she is alluring, and Whitford lights up his handful of scenes. They elevate a fairly standard dramedy keeping it watchable even when its script hits the usual beats.

Since this is an actor-driven film, the flat visuals and standard formal approach would be fine if it weren’t for a distracting score that feels like iMovie temp music titled Indie Dramedy. It’s baffling and amateurish and does a disservice to these excellent actors — other than Michael Rapaport who it suits just fine.

Anyway, back to why you’re here: Wanda and Sophie. Again, this is not a lesbian romance. In fact, from the beginning it’s clear Wanda’s true love interest will be a guy named Albert (another very watchable performance from Michael Beach). It would have been cool if the arc was Wanda giving up her boring boyfriend to be openly with the hot younger woman she’s secretly sleeping with, but I do understand why the film decides instead she has to be there for herself. And that Albert is better suited for that.

Luckily, there are still some excellent moments between Falco and Moafi. There are no sex scenes, but we do get some extended moments of them in bed as Sophie waxes poetic about how incredible Wanda is at sex. And as people find out about this affair, the movie is surprisingly casual about bisexuality given its otherwise old-school vibe.

There’s a lot to like in this movie and I’m sure it’ll connect with a lot of people. (If nothing else, it’s always a pleasure to watch Falco and some of these other actors on-screen.) But for me personally, it mostly highlighted how much Sepideh Moafi deserves so much better. Someone cast her in a gay romcom! A good one! Immediately!

I’ll Be Right There will be available to rent tomorrow.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!