Aahana Swrup
The Hallie Meyers-Shyer directorial ‘Goodrich’ is an uplifting drama film that follows a man in his 60s who finds himself on a surprisingly transformational journey. Andy Goodrich is an art gallery owner who is out of touch enough not to even notice his wife’s burgeoning troubles until she enters a rehab program. As a result, Naomi’s seemingly unexpected departure leaves him to look after his young twin kids, Billie and Moses, alone. Sorely out of practice at a job he wasn’t ever all that good at, to begin with, Andy ends up seeking help from Grace, his older daughter from his first marriage. Thus, Grace ends up having to help him on his self-betterment journey as he strives to become the father she had always wanted growing up.
The film explores complex familial relationships, focusing on the nuances of a father-daughter relationship and how it evolves during adulthood. Furthermore, Andy’s unique yet universally resonant struggles between becoming an active parent and balancing his gallery’s shrinking business enhance the air of realism surrounding the narrative. Consequently, the protagonist and the details around his characterizations, including his Goodrich Gallery, remain intriguing in their origins.
Goodrich Draws Inspiration from Filmmaker Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s Life
While ‘Goodrich’ isn’t a biographical film, it holds significant roots in the writer/director Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s personal life. The director, the daughter of renowned filmmakers Nancy Meyers and the late Charles Shyer, grew up as a child of divorce and had intricate relationships with her parents. Much like Andy Goodrich, her own father also went on to have another marriage to Deborah Lynn after his divorce from Myers. Together, Shyer and Lynn became the parents of twin kids, Jacob and Sophia, subsequently making Meyers-Shyer an older sister at an unexpected stage in her life. Likewise, it also gave her the opportunity to watch her father undergo the nuances of parenting once again—this time under a different personal and cultural context.
This concept of second marriages, a second set of kids, and their impact on an individual’s relationship with their older kids became a natural source of interest for Meyers-Shyer. She also felt that despite the normalcy of this family structure, it was rarely ever represented in mainstream media. As such, the idea to build a story around that narrative took hold. From there, she also started laying down other core foundations for the film’s premise. For instance, one of the notable ideas the filmmaker wanted to explore with this project was the stark difference in the cultural perception of parenting today as compared to the 80s. This is particularly highlighted in the context of the way fatherhood has changed in terms of cultural practices.
Ultimately, the idea proved to be riveting, with the right potential for humor and sentimentality. Meyers-Shyer mined many of these sentimentalities from her lived experiences, which helped her portray complicated family dynamics in an authentic and grounded light. Moreover, it adds a sense of realism to the characters, which becomes the central driving force behind the story. Even so, while these real-life inspirations add notable value to ‘Goodrich,’ the film doesn’t directly base itself on the filmmaker’s family and their lives. The events that unravel on-screen are fictionalized, with a hint of autobiographical reference.
Andy Goodrich is a Fictional Character With Real-Life Resemblances
Given the profoundly personal origin story behind ‘Goodrich,’ it’s no surprise that the genesis of its protagonist similarly remains fairly nuanced. At first glance, Andy Goodrich, the art dealer and owner of the Goodrich Gallery, is confined to the fictionality of the film. However, his interpersonal relationships and connections to fatherhood create an inevitable real-life basis for him. As such, even though there are notable differences between the two, Andy Goodrich seems to hold some similarities with Charles Shyer—particularly in the latter’s personal relationship with his daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer.
From family structure and dynamics to an inkling for the arts, Goodrich seems to hold many things in common with his possible off-screen inspiration. Furthermore, Shyer’s relationship with Meyers-Shyer remained a crucial tool for the young filmmaker as she crafted Andy’s character. Still, despite taking Shyer as an initial point of reference and counterpart, Andy retains a certain distance from the ‘Father of the Bride‘ director. As such, it’s crucial to remember that Meyers-Shyer’s real-life familial relationships are only reflected in this creative endeavor without any individual element becoming a biographical recreation.
Alternatively, Andy Goodrich also holds a likeness to actor Michael Keaton. The character and his story had been a work-in-progress for Meyers-Shyer for around six years before it finally came to fruition. During this time, the filmmaker imagined Andy as Keaton through every step of the creative process. In a conversation with Vanity Fair, she shared, “I tried to capture some of his (Keaton’s) mannerisms (in Andy) because I wanted to subliminally let him see himself in the part.” Thus, these instances of real-life connections strengthen the character’s connection to reality.
Goodrich Gallery: A Fictional Establishment in Los Angeles
Since the career-driven parts of Andy’s storyline inform his more fictionalized aspects, his art gallery remains a similar work of fabrication. While the audience may be able to find similarly christened galleries, such as the one in Texas known for exhibiting local art, these places likely have no connection to the on-screen establishment. In the film, Goodrich Gallery serves the purpose of adding outside conflict to Andy’s life, creating friction for his more personal and central plot points.
Furthermore, the gallery’s declining status reflects the dimming nature of Andy’s career, inadvertently opening up roads for him to intentionally choose to remodel his familial relationships. For the same reason, such a place cannot exist outside of its connection to the on-screen character. Even so, The Merrick Building, an Art Gallery for Lease in Los Angeles, serves as a physical equivalent to the Goodrich Gallery. Situated at 4859 Fountain Ave, the building was used as the filming location for the on-screen gallery during filming, making it a close-to-reality counterpart.
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