Cyrus presents an interesting and, at times, original combination of various elements. Yet all in all it is set for failure – it is a film that is neither a fully realized comedy nor a drama. It belongs to a fairly new genre which emerged over the past couple of decades, a genre that is really quite paradoxical by definition – the dramedy. I, for one, believe that despite some isolated successes, this genre has no valid place in storytelling. While a comedy typically has no real goal other than creating amusing situations and make you laugh (or, as my narrative concept professor in college used to say – the hero goes through a full adventure only to learn nothing at all), a drama aims at the exact opposite. And though a good drama should have its comic relief moments, a comedy with serious scenes does not usually work. Cyrus, despite the amusing situations it explores and the good acting, suffers from being neither one nor the other. It could have been a good serious drama, exploring the nature of a parent-offspring relationship: what happens when it’s time to let go, who needs to let go, etc. But instead this film is too light and shallow to really do so. On the other hand, though very funny at its first part, the film moves to a much more serious tone and cannot hold its ground as a solid comedy. Too bad.
With that said, the three main characters are terrific. Jonah proves to be a promising actor that has the potential of leaping beyond the fart comedies he undertook to date. Marrisa Thomey is simply charming, and John Reily acts as if this role was written especially for him.