‘This Is Us’ Creator’s New Movie Looks As Melodramatic As You’d Think

Dan Fogelman (far left) with stars of NBC’s ‘This Is Us’ Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer July 10, 2018

Dan Fogelman, the sadistic Jewish genius behind the sob-inducing NBC television phenomenon “This Is Us” is coming out with a new movie, ambitiously called “Life Itself.”

The trailer dropped today, and, yes, it is exactly what you’d expect.

If you do not find yourself in a fetal position with a bottle of whiskey and a tear-drenched baby blanket after watching this trailer, are you even human?

This trailer has everything:
– Exquisite declarations of love
– Little children
– Weeping
– Oscar Isaac’s expressive eyebrows
– Beautiful pregnant women
– Spanish
– Gorgeous couples cuddling puppies
– A discussion about heroism versus villainy
– Libraries
– Mandy Patinkin in rimless glasses
– Metaphorically suggestive revolving doors
– A costume party
– Birth
– Someone jumping in a fountain
– A baby learning to walk
– A physical fight
– A dog
– A breakdown
– Hugs
– Jokes about orphans
– Annette Bening
– Snow
– Discussions about fate
– Fast cuts of smiling faces
– Kissing

Dan Fogelman, who also created the surprisingly good rom-com “Crazy Stupid Love” and wrote both of Pixar’s “Cars” movies, will bring his latest assault on our fragile emotions to theaters on September 21, courtesy of Amazon Studios.

We need a tissue. And possibly, a lobotomy.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.