Kate (Jacobs) is excited to have published her first novel, although, as she declares to her best friend (a very funny Zoe Chao), “The cover is horrible.” And it really is. It’s one of the worst book covers I’ve ever seen. The title isn’t much better: Seasons Passed. Is that a double entendre or is it just … really bad? Still, it’s something to be published, especially since her fiancé has just broken off their engagement and—according to his Instagram feed—has already moved on with another woman. Initial sales of Seasons Passed are disappointing, and her publishers get spooked, canceling her upcoming book tour (their forced pep-talk cheerfulness over the phone is crushing). Bereft, Kate takes up an offer from her alma mater to do a book reading.
Thrust back into the familiar world of her old college town, she is overwhelmed by nostalgia. Her book reading is organized by her onetime writing mentor (Jemaine Clement), now head of the Creative Writing department. He’s got his wife in tow, but he flirts with Kate, asking her to go out for a drink afterwards. He's handsome, wearing a turtleneck and blazer, and his behavior is a little bit sleazy, but it’s the kind of sleazy favored by men who consider themselves to be intellectuals. This is such a specific dynamic and Clement nails it.
Throughout, Kate is in between two worlds: her book is a failure, and yet here at the college she’s a “star,” with hopeful students asking her for career advice. She can barely be civil. Her book is bad, she feels like a fraud. Kate regresses, and quickly. She gets into a battle of wills with the hostile proprietress (Cindy Gold) of the B&B where she’s staying, and befriends a group of college kids living in the big house across the street (the house where she lived when she “used to go here.”) Instead of focusing on the adult activities of being a visiting teaching artist, she hangs out with the kids, eventually calling them by their nicknames (“Animal,” “Tall Brandon”). The kids sense she’s having some kind of mild nervous breakdown, and don’t question why she keeps coming over. The actors playing the kids—Josh Wiggins, Forrest Goodluck, Brandon Daley, Khloe Janel—are all excellent, and they collectively create a believable sense of a tight-knit group of friends.
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