By John Corrado

The title of director Hannah Pearl Utt’s (Before You Know It) sophomore feature Cora Bora refers to the affectionate nickname given to Cora (Megan Stalter), a millennial musician struggling to make it in Los Angeles.

Following the breakdown of her moderately successful band, Cora is now trying to strike a solo record deal as a singer-songwriter, but finds herself playing daytime gigs in front of disinterested patrons in local coffee shops.

The bisexual musician is drifting through life, and mainly taking advantage of being in an “open relationship” to have a series of casual one-night stands (including with a “Flat Earther” played by Thomas Mann, in one of the film’s more amusing sketch-like interludes).

But when she flies back to Portland, Oregon to surprise her girlfriend Justine (Jojo T. Gibbs), Cora discovers that she has not only moved on, but has also moved her new girlfriend Riley (Ayden Mayeri) into the house they used to share together. This forces Cora to try and piece her life back together, and undergo a process of self-evaluation.

While the main character’s fluid sexuality and the story’s exploration of open relationships makes Cora Bora feel like a very modern relationship comedy, on the other hand it relies on a number of familiar tropes; i.e., the “meet cute” that happens on the airplane with another passenger (played by Manny Jacinto) whose seat Cora has stolen. There is a sitcomish feel to a lot of this, including a subplot involving a lost dog, as well as in the episodic way it is presented and filmed.

The last act tonal shift puts aspects of the main character into sharper focus, but perhaps should have been teased out earlier to have more of an impact. The screenplay by Rhianon Jones blends elements of comedy and drama to somewhat mixed effect, but with occasional moments of insight. It’s not exactly groundbreaking as a “millennial putting their life back together” dramedy, but Cora Bora is still an entertaining enough film that coasts by on Stalter’s affable screen presence.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)

Cora Bora will be available on VOD/Digital platforms as of July 16th. It’s being distributed in Canada by Vortex Media.