A Real Pain offers a fresh take on roadtrip movies

Don't take this the wrong way, but every single story has already been told. That doesn't mean we can't find a new way to tell an old story. Which is what writer/director Jesse Eisenberg does with A Real Pain.

A Real Pain is a compelling story about two cousins who reunite for a Jewish heritage tour through Poland to honor their late grandmother.

Genre-wise this is a roadtrip movie. The conflict in such a movie often comes from a mismatched pair of travelers who take a journey together -- leaving their comfort zone behind and learning new things along the way.

While I enjoyed the story Eisenberg was telling, after I watched the movie, I couldn't help but think how similar - STORYWISE - this film is to Alexander Payne's 2004 film Sideways (based on the novel by Rex Pickett). While the characters and details are specific and different, the story spine is essentially the same. And I don't mean that in a bad way. It means BOTH films have very strong story foundations.

Here's how the film are similar:

* Both are roadtrip movie (Golden Fleece genre).

* Are bout two guys (best friends/cousins)

* Feature one guy who is a narcissist, the other is a bit more neurotic/anxious.

* You wonder why these two mismatched guys are spedning time together (but you understand they share history as friends/cousins).

*The narcissist character is both lovable and despicable.

* Shit happens, secrets revealed, there is a small shift in attitude (acceptance) but not a total transformation. The hero returns to stasis after the journey

A Real Pain is an excellent movie that stands on it's own. But as a Story Nerd, I can see the skeleton beneath the film - and it truly is Sideways in Poland - with concentration camp tours instead of wine-tasting.

Remember, EVERY story has already been told. Y

You don't need to re-invent cinema or even try to reimagine the roadtrip genre. Just pick a story you love and put your deeply personal spin on it. This is why THEME is so important. This is where the writer tells us what the film is really about.

Roadtrip films are popular and have certain tropes and expectations. Still every film can feel fresh and unique. It's up to the writer/director to bring this story to life in a new way.

A Real Pain does that by giving us a unique setting with historical significance and creating unforgettable characters, while exploring themes of family trauma, pain and suffering, tourism, and privilege.

The heart of A Real Pain is the writer's thesis question: Can we revisit our traumatic past as tourists - removed from the suffering and pain (historical, familial, or personal) - or do we carry the pain within us, never to escape it?

This is a different thesis than Sideways, even though they share an almost identical Story DNA. In Sideways, Miles and Jack are also searching for meaning and confront their midlife demons. But they are mostly seeking pleasure through indulging their tastes for fine wine, women, and a beautiful landscape.