Ode to Joy (2019) Reviews

• Lovely film

  sawadee-686542019-04-11

  This movie is a joy! I cried. I laughed out loud. It is wonderful and it handles the guy's condition respectfully. It is sensitive, romantic and very funny. Loved it!

• Misinformation Hurts

  ephvv2019-04-08

  Cute idea for a comedy. Too bad it's all wrong. Cataplexy doesn't cause narcolepsy, it is a SYMPTOM of narcolepsy that some of us have and some don't. Narcolepsy is a disorder where the most troublesome symptom is excessive daytime exhaustion (an average day for a person with narcolepsy is equal to a healthy person who hasn't slept for 2 to 3 days). Another symptom is insomnia at night. And no, going to bed earlier won't make us less tired during the day because of the insomnia as well as the fact that even when we do sleep our sleep stages are mixed up and in some cases (mine included) even when we are asleep part of our brain is still awake so even after a full night's sleep we feel like we have pulled an all nighter because part of our brain HAS.There are already too many misconceptions out there without you adding more. Too many people believe lies about narcolepsy and these lies lead to false accusations of laziness, hurtful comments from people, failed marriages, lack of understanding from bosses and coworkers, and many other problems that add to the misery of having a chronic illness. And now there is yet another movie making things even worse for us

• Delightful comedy

  IndieFan852019-04-08

  Sweet and hilarious romantic comedy about a man trying to avoid love by making a pact with his brother. Brisk pacing. Great performances all around. Martin Freeman is simply charming and Melissa Rauch steals the show. Audience was laughing throughout.

• Learn The Facts

  FactBasedMovies2019-04-09

  When did it become acceptable to laugh at a chronic illness that for some can be disabling? What makes Narcolepsy different from Lupus, Alzheimers, Cancer or Epilepsy? Aside from the blatantly incorrect synopsis (cataplexy is a SYMPTOM of Narcolepsy-Narcolepsy is the disease), what frustrates me about this film is that it is based on one extreme spectrum of the disorder and I would even say an anomaly at that. For the majority of people with Narcolepsy, the primary concern is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Managing this symptom is often not as simple as taking a drug and returning to "normal" in terms of energy. A cost-benefit balance is needed between medications and side effects not to mention the cost and availability of the drugs. Additionally, there are only two types of narcolepsy distinguished by the presence or absence of cataplexy. The more prominent type of narcolepsy is in fact with cataplexy. Cataplexy isn't all or nothing but rather a spectrum and can be caused by extreme or in some cases moderate emotions (most commonly laughter/humor). On one extreme, you have complete loss of muscle tone, where someone might fall to the ground while remaining conscious and breathing. On the other extreme, someone's cataplexy might go unnoticed by the general public and could display as having a slight drooping of their head while laughing or their jaw may slack for a second. I agree with ephvv, misinformation hurts and there are already too many misconceptions about narcolepsy thanks to inaccurate or incomplete portrayals of narcolepsy like this film.