‘Running On Empty’ Review – Keir Gilchrist and Lucy Hale Connect In Uncompromising Anti-Romantic Comedy

Director/writer Daniel André accurately describes “Running On Empty” as an anti-romantic comedy, but it is not exactly a pessimistic tale. Mort (Keir Gilchrist) is a mortician in the San Fernando Valley who discovers he will die in a year, and the narrative focuses on his attempt to make the best of it.

Director/writer Daniel Andre accurately describes “Running On Empty” as an anti-romantic comedy, but it is not exactly a pessimistic tale. Mort (Keir Gilchrist) is a mortician in the San Fernando Valley who discovers he will die in a year, and the narrative focuses on his attempt to make the best of it.

“Running on Empty’s” premise is that people have the option of finding out their actual death date, and Mort is understandably shocked when he gets the bad news.

His fiancee Nicole (Francesca Eastwood) breaks up with him (she has at least 60 more years to live), and that leads Mort to sign up for a special dating service (named Till Death Do Us Part) specifically designed for people who share Mort’s situation.

Jim Gaffigan is Barry, Mort’s uncle and main boss at the funeral home. Though Mort does the embalming and prepping of the bodies, he also places the corpses in various adventure/lifestyle settings per their wishes. Mort considers himself to be a post mortem artist, and although these scenes are played to comic effect, he really does have an affinity for the deceased. He loves his job, but with only so many days left, Mort is trying to get a life.

Lucy Hale is Kate, an employee at Till Death Do Us Part who tries to comfort Mort and bring him out of his shell. Rhys Coiro also has a sizable role as a pimp who’s trying to extort money from Mort. Other members of the ensemble include Leslie Stratton as a potential one-night stand for Mort and Dylan Flashner as Nicole’s new boyfriend.

Filmmaker Daniel Andre, who also penned the script, brings a light touch to what could be considered a dark comedy. Most of the characters, except for Hale and Gilchrist’s, are explored on a surface and comedic level. That is not a critique, however, as Andre is focused on keeping “Running on Empty” running along at a brisk pace. 

**CinemAddicts co-host Eric Holmes also reviewed “Running on Empty”:

Andre also brings a knowing perspective on the San Fernando Valley. The movie’s original title was “Mort in Sherman Oaks,” and the powers that be should have kept that original title. Sherman Oaks, for me, has always been a city that has one foot in the Valley but another foot sneaking into the Westside (thanks to the always clogged 405 freeway). Mort finds his own feet in two different worlds. Will he continue a routine life before he dies or will he risk it all and do something grand?

The final act, when everything comes to a head, is absolutely well played and uncompromising. “Running On Empty, on the surface, could have been a sugar coated romantic comedy that pulled at our heart strings. Instead, Andre executes his narrative with an even hand.

We are all going to die, but actually living our lives to the fullest isn’t such a bad idea. Mort, an introvert at heart, may be “running on empty,” but he still has a few miles to go before he sleeps.

“Running On Empty” is now playing in theaters and will be available on VOD August 27 in US/Canada (all major digital platforms).

On the latest episode of Find Your Film, I interview “The Last Front” actors (Iain Glen, James Downie, Sasha Luss) and director Julien Hayet-Kerknawi.