“Magic Hour” (USA) (2025 production, 2026 release). Cast: Katie Aselton, Daveed Diggs, Brad Garrett, Susan Sullivan, Leonora Pitts, D.J. Shangela Pierce. Director: Katie Aselton. Screenplay: Katie Aselton and Mark Duplass. Web site. Trailer.

“Departures” (UK) (2025 production, 2026 release). Cast: Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, David Tag, Liam Boyle, Lorraine Stanley, Saira Jackson, Tyler Conti, Ali Afzal, Olly Rhodes, Jacob Partali, Kerry Howard. Directors: Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan. Screenplay: Lloyd Eyre-Morgan. Web site. Trailer.

The hope most of us hold for romantic comedy-dramas is that everything will ultimately work out in the end. But, in real life, relationships don’t always turn out that way. So when filmmakers try to fuse those two divergent scenarios, the results can be unexpected, even dismaying, if not handled properly. However, when addressed with a skillful touch, such stories can be surprisingly entertaining, even revelatory, in many ways. So it is with two alternative love stories now available for streaming online, “Magic Hour” and “Departures.”

Whether we like it or not, life is full of new beginnings, and adjusting to them can indeed be difficult. Nevertheless, sometimes they present us with circumstances that we must find a way to address, given that we seemingly have no other choice. And, in the process, despite the challenges, we may end up learning valuable insights about life and ourselves.

So it is for Erin (Katie Aselton) and Charlie (Daveed Diggs), a young married couple very much in love but who have been unexpectedly saddled with working out a drastic change in the nature of their relationship: They find themselves on opposite sides of the veil between life and death, even though they have somehow managed to find a way to remain in each other’s company, an arrangement that only they’re aware of.

(Just as an aside, some have contended that my disclosure of this fact constitutes a spoiler, something I typically strive to avoid revealing at all costs. But, in this case, it’s virtually impossible to talk about this film without noting this core aspect of the narrative. What’s more, given that this fact is revealed very early on in the picture, I don’t believe I’m disclosing anything that would likely be looked upon as a spoiler, since such considerations generally apply to a movie’s conclusion, and this story element is central to addressing what transpires after its revelation. In light of that, to avoid further “contamination,” I have endeavored to avoid disclosing which of the protagonists is on each side of the aforementioned veil to prevent further contentions of playing spoiler.)

To work out the remaining logistics of the couple’s unique situation, Erin and Charlie seek a neutral venue for their deliberations, one separate and apart from the city life to which they’re accustomed, free from the distractions that go along with it and might impinge on their process of discovery. They journey to Joshua Tree in the California desert to regroup at the home of a longtime friend, Marshall (Brad Garrett), hoping that the change of scene, its wide-open spaces with their lack of distractions and the presence of ample New Age spiritual influences will provide a suitable environment to undertake this challenge.

However, despite the sincerity with which they approach this task, they have trouble emotionally coping with such a fundamental change in their marriage. By tightly holding on to what they had (and no longer do), they’re incapable of moving on to new paths in life and the afterlife. Others genuinely try to offer comfort, guidance and support, such as a healing masseuse (Leonora Pitts), an overbearing but well-meaning mother/mother-in-law, Diane (Susan Sullivan), and a quartet of vivacious, fun-loving drag queens (D.J. Shangela Pierce, Sabryna Williams, Jo Lopez, Martin DeLuna Jr.). Nevertheless, the sought-after answers lie within Erin and Charlie themselves, and only they can find them. But will they?

That’s the challenge put to the protagonists in “Magic Hour,” the latest effort from writer-actor-director Aselton, a love story in which its participants face perhaps the most daunting obstacle to maintaining a logistically workable relationship and how attempting to do so can impair each partner’s efforts to get on with their existence in both life and the afterlife.

Comparable but different conditions provide the challenges faced by Benji (Lloyd Eyre-Morgan) and Jake (David Tag) in another alternative love story, “Departures,” a same-sex couple struggling to deal with the dynamics of their relationship. This LGBTQ+ offering about their dysfunctional romance from directors Neil Ely and Eyre-Morgan (who also wrote the script and stars in the movie) is told in the form of an extended flashback that, ironically, begins at the story’s end.

The film follows the 18-month “relationship” (a term I use loosely) between Benji and Jake. They initially meet while cruising one another in an airport bar before they both embark on a trip from their native England to Amsterdam. Benji, a sheepish middle-aged single who has a long history of bad luck in love (as illustrated in several tangential flashbacks within the main story line), takes quite a shine to the chiseled, masculine Jake, and he’s quite surprised to find this supremely confident Adonis return the attention. But, as Benji soon finds out, Jake is also a major tease, and he can’t tell if Jake is genuinely as interested in him as he might seem. However, no sooner is Benji ready to write off this romantic prospect when he unexpectedly pounces on him, leading to some of the hottest sex the lovelorn seeker has ever had.

This encounter, in turn, leads to a series of weekend trips to The Netherlands, but the duo never seems to get past the casual level where they began, much to Benji’s disappointment. And, after a year of such meetings, relations never progress to anything more serious. So, when Benji confronts Jake about this, he explains that he never intended for their involvement to be anything more than just a little no-strings fun, especially when he makes clear that he’s actually more into women than men. Benji tries to rationalize Jake’s behavior as that of a transitioning bisexual (though “DL” (or “down low”) would probably be more accurate) and continues to pine away for him, hoping that circumstances will somehow turn around.

This is where matters begin to sour as Jake tries to have his cake and eat it, too, while Benji struggles to figure out his next move. But can he let go of his obsession with someone who won’t reciprocate? And is anyone at fault here for why they’re having trouble making this venture work? Indeed, what does this experience say about each of them?

As superficially different as these two pictures might seem, they both have things in common. For example, they both involve circumstances that are far from what one typically sees in more conventional relationships. Both Erin and Charlie and Benji and Jake are being confronted with uphill battles when it comes to making their partnerships succeed. And, at bottom, they’re also the only ones who can resolve their difficulties. But, the alternative natures of their relationships aside, their respective situations raise questions about how (and why) they found themselves in these challenging circumstances in the first place, conditions that, while fundamentally different from one another, are both nevertheless intrinsically trying for all concerned.

When it comes to the formation of a relationship, it’s generally understood that it takes two to tango. And those romantic arrangements require participation by, and the establishment of certain agreements (either spoken or unspoken) between, the two parties involved. Those circumstances, of necessity, call for input from each individual, and the contributions they make in that regard are inherently based on their respective beliefs, regardless of the form they ultimately take upon materialization. Indeed, their (and our) beliefs are responsible for the reality that emerges, a product of the conscious creation process, the philosophy that makes such outcomes possible. It’s unclear if Erin, Charlie, Benji or Jake have ever heard of this school of thought, but, based on what they’re going through, it’s apparent that, on some level, they needed to have these experiences for their growth as individuals, to learn valuable life lessons that they might not have been able to get in any other way. And what characterizes the experiences of these four individuals is that they have chosen, for whatever reason and albeit subconsciously, to learn them through the context of romance.

For Erin and Charlie, for instance, it would seem that they have opted to learn lessons associated with the emotions related to separation, and what more potent way to acquire that experience than through separation where heartfelt love is involved. It’s an undeniably painful scenario, as their story clearly shows. But it’s also essential to understanding what’s involved in learning how to let go, a process nearly always integral to our personal growth as individuals, to promote our process of self-discovery and how to move forward, to exhibit the principle of “being in a constant state of becoming,” no matter how challenging, painful and difficult it may be. Enduring that can certainly seem insufferable, but, over time and with understanding, such circumstances can also ultimately reveal what it’s like to grow and evolve, to get to places in our life (or afterlife) that we might not have been able to experience any other way.

In a similar way, those principles can be applied to Benji and Jake as well. As the film so aptly illustrates, both men have lived lives where they’ve been stuck in ruts from which escape and evolution have been hard to bring about. Benji, for example, has a history of playing subservient roles in his romantic involvements, falling for the wrong kinds of guys and invariably ending up unhappy. But what has that gotten him? If ever he wants to find satisfaction and fulfillment in life, he needs to learn how to get past those conditions. And maybe the experience of being in a futile relationship with someone as fundamentally indifferent as Jake is what he needs to overcome those circumstances. Indeed, as hard as it may be to accept, for what it’s worth, sometimes we have to grow sick of certain scenarios to learn how to abandon them for good.

The same could be said for Jake. He’s been living a shallow, hedonistic life that might be fun in some regards but that is ultimately superficial and unfulfilling. That can be enjoyable for a while, but sooner or later it’s going to grow old and stifling. Is that a gratifying way to live one’s life for the long run? Won’t it also impede the personal growth, development and evolution that we all ultimately need for a rewarding existence and the progression of one’s soul?

While solutions to these lessons depend primarily on those who created these scenarios to begin with, that doesn’t mean they don’t have assistance available to them, provided they choose to access it. In “Magic Hour,” for instance, there are all of those individuals in the aforementioned support network who can help out. The masseuse provides physical therapy to help ease stress and restore calm. The drag queens demonstrate how to shake off the blues and learn how to have fun again. And Marshall and Diane offer the inspired wisdom of tough love to draw from, hard-edged but significant insights into how beliefs can be adjusted to change paths and start anew. Moreover, there’s the support that Erin and Charlie can offer one another, provided they’re willing to listen to the advice and not allow their emotions to unduly get in the way. Drawing on those valuable resources for guidance can make all the difference, both for Erin and Charlie, as well as those of us who find ourselves in comparable situations.

Assistance in pursuing new beginnings is available in “Departures,” too, even if it takes different forms. For Benji, there’s his hard-nosed mother (Lorraine Stanley), who takes tough love to a new level, transforming it into an artform all in itself. And, when Benji begins to suspect that longing for a relationship with Jake is going nowhere, he turns to the dating scene as an alternative, hoping that he can get break free from the frustrations of the pattern that he’s allowed to endure for far too long. That’s where Kieran (Liam Boyle) comes into play. If nothing else, this new romantic prospect helps to get Benji off the dime, even if sparks don’t fly as quickly or thoroughly as he might like. That’s because Kieran is, in many ways, a tangible reflection of Benji himself, and sometimes it can be extremely helpful to have such corporeal mirrors available to us to get motivated for breaking patterns that no longer serve us.

As for Jake, assistance is hard to come by because he’s so in denial of needing to make a change. He floats from one self-serving scenario to another when confronted by this realization. And this string of “situations” blows up in his face, creating new forms of drama to reconcile that no amount of patchwork hedonism can repair. He consequently sinks deeper and deeper into emotional quicksand that he also tries to ignore, despite the resulting anguish he experiences. He may cast impressions of confidence and happiness, but are they really? Only he can answer that question for himself.

In the case of both of these films, there are valuable life lessons to be learned through the characters’ relationship experiences. Will these scenarios deliver the results their creators seek? That depends on how diligently they pursue the solutions, change their beliefs as needed and make concerted efforts to move forward. And, should they decide to do so, they just might find that the answers can be applied to other areas of their existence as well, leading potentially to greater fulfillment all around. Here’s wishing them all the success they’re looking for.

There are certainly beneficial insights to be gleaned from both of these films, though that’s not to suggest that the pictures are without flaws. In the case of “Magic Hour,” some aspects are carried out with tremendous skill and dexterity, while others require retooling (ironically, a reflection of the characters’ personas themselves). On the plus side, this unusual love story’s excellent performances, superb character development and chemistry, gorgeous desert cinematography, and fitting soundtrack all get deservedly high marks. However, the same can’t be said for the writing, which is sometimes enigmatically vague and mistakenly assumes that viewers know what the script is trying to convey. The story also tends to feel padded at times, despite the picture’s comparatively short 1:20:00 runtime. It’s truly unfortunate that these shortcomings impinge on this offering, for, if these areas had been stronger, “Magic Hour” would have earned higher grades. As it stands now, though, viewers will have to be satisfied with the film as it is, an earnest but sometimes-incomplete effort that tries to address a hopeful but heartbreaking scenario that many of us may have to face at some point in our lives – or afterlives.

As for “Departures,” some might view this story as a downer, one whose narrative might not be seen as any laughing matter, and a good case could be made for that argument. But, given the film’s deft handling of its comic material, the story comes off as humorous and even quite charming, validating the notion that most comedy is inherently rooted in tragedy with good makeup. It skillfully combines the weight, oppressiveness and toxic qualities sometimes present in gay male partnerships, as depicted in movies like “Pillion” (2025), and the delightful sensibilities of quirky, off-beat romcoms like “(500) Days of Summer” (2009). These qualities are further enhanced here through the use of clever animation, insightful voice-over narrations by the protagonist and even a music video sequence. Be forewarned, however, that this release is not all sweetness and light: It’s explicit in both its verbal descriptions and visual depictions of sexuality, and it features more than a little foul language and elements of envelope-pushing physical abuse, so sensitive viewers take heed. But, for all of the film’s cautionary qualities, there are also life lessons to be learned from what transpires, and they help to effectively offset those potentially troubling aspects. From this, one might contend that “Departures” is not for everyone (especially those outside the gay male community), but, for those who come from this segment of LGBTQ+ society, this release may strike more than a few familiar chords, doing so in ways that are poignant, cringey and amusing all at the same time – just like many gay male relationships themselves.

As the summer movie season winds down and the selection of new theatrical releases becomes more questionable, this is where streaming platforms can become more important, especially when it comes to finding lesser-known titles worth watching. These two offerings – though far from perfect – nevertheless have a lot to offer those looking for good movies and helpful advice. Romance may admittedly be an unusual vehicle through which to explore these deeper questions, but, then, we should be willing to take our lessons from wherever we can get them. It’s a lesson for the characters in these films, as well as for us. But, if it helps to get us where we ultimately want to be, why turn our backs on it?

Sound advice if you ask me.

Copyright © 2026, by Brent Marchant. All rights reserved.