July 24, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Nina Conti
Culture Representation: Taking place in New Mexico, the comedy/drama film “Sunlight” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with few Latin people and African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A depressed radio host and a motel mascot who dresses as a primate go on a road trip together and develop an unexpected bond with each other.
Culture Audience: “Sunlight” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching unconventional movies about human connections and road trips, with comedy aimed at adults.
“Sunlight” is a delightfully oddball comedy/drama about the relationship between a radio host and a costume-clad mascot during a wacky road trip. Fans of improv-styled comedy should enjoy this unique film. “Sunlight” also has some emotionally touching moments that balance out some of the absurd jokes.
Directed by Nina Conti, “Sunlight” was co-written by Conti (a professional ventroliquist) and longtime improv comedian Shenoah Allen. Conti and Allen also star in the movie as the two main characters. “Sunlight” had its world premiere at the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival. The movie takes place in New Mexico (Allen’s home state), where the movie was filmed on location.
“Sunlight” begins in a somber tone, by showing radio host Leroy “Roy” Belvedere (played by Allen) in a motel room, where he plans to commit suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling lamp. Just as he’s finished tying the knots to his noose, he sees someone dressed as a monkey looking at him outside through the room’s window. Roy then blacks out.
The movie then shows Roy in a jail interrogation room. He’s been arrested (the movie reveals later why he was arrested), and he’s explaining what happened to him in the days leading up to his arrest. The person interviewing him is a local TV reporter named Vashti (played by Rachel Kylian), who wants to tell Roy’s unusual story.
Most of the movie is then a flashback showing what led up to Roy’s arrest. After losing consciousness, he wakes up find himself in the front passenger seat of his Airstream trailer, with the person in the monkey suit driving. Roy’s Airstream trailer bears the logo of Sunlight Radio, the independent radio outlet where he does dull public affairs interviews. The person in the monkey costume rescued Roy from Roy’s suicide attempt by untying him from the noose.
Roy soon finds out that the person wearing the costume is named Jane (played by Conti), but Jane has adopted the persona of an acerbic-talking, gender-neutral monkey with a British accent who stays in character as someone called Monkey. Monkey tells Roy, “Jane died last night, just like you.”
Much later, Jane tells Roy that she was the motel’s unhappy mascot in this costume. She wants to escape to start a new life because she’s desperate to get away from the motel’s tyrannical manager Wade (played by Bill Wise), who is Jane’s stepfather. Wade ends up trying to track down these two wayward travelers by traveling on his bicycle.
Monkey wants to drive to Colorado, but Roy insists on going to his mother’s house first. That’s because Roy mailed her a suicide note, and he wants to get to her house before she receives this note. It’s too late. Roy’s widowed mother Gail (played by Melissa Chambers), who has a very bad temper, already got the note and is enraged when she sees Roy, because she thinks Roy was playing a cruel trick on her.
Gail tells Roy that Roy’s deceased father Everett Belvedere was buried with a valuable wrist watch. Roy has taken a leave of absence from his job and needs money. And so, Roy comes up with the idea to go to Everett’s grave, dig up the grave, take the watch, and sell it. Roy tells Monkey that Monkey can get half of the amount of money that Roy will get from selling the watch.
“Sunlight” is a conversation-driven movie, but there are also some moments of slapstick comedy. This is not a movie for people who can’t tolerate bawdy conversations. For example, there’s a scene in the movie where Monkey and Roy talk for at least three minutes straight about sexual penetrations in various body holes.
Even though she’s in an animal suit and pretending to be a foul-mouthed and brittle character, Jane’s vulnerable personality shines through. Everett becomes attracted to her. And the feeling becomes mutual. As they spend more time together, the two travelers open up to each other about their past. Jane’s mother owned the motel and died of cancer, and she describes Wade as an opportunist who took over the motel after her mother died. Roy has unresolved issues about his relationship with his father.
“Sunlight” is a very unique and entertaining movie with terrific performances from Conti and Allen. Viewers won’t really know until the conclusion of the story where these two travelers will end up on this road trip or in their relationship. However, “Sunlight” is the type of movie that will make viewers feel good that these two lost souls found each other.
Sunrise Films released “Sunlight” in select U.S. cinemas on June 6, 2025. The movie was released on digital and VOD on June 22, 2025.