There are dream chasers, and then there is Victoria Strouse. After over two decades as a screenwriter in Hollywood, she’s finally unveiled her deeply personal directorial debut to the thirsty moviegoing audiences at Austin’s SXSW Festival. Some would argue that Strouse had already made it, having her fingerprints as a primary writer or on-set script aid for films like Finding Dory and Little Fockers. But if you were to ask her, she’d say Seekers of Infinite Love is “the one”, it’s been her passion project 20 years in the making. And to witness Austin’s rowdy crowds eating up every minute of the film, Strouse’s dream has finally come true.
As the daughter of film composer Charles Strouse, a Primetime Emmy winner known for his musical work on classics such as 1982’s Annie and 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, and the sister to three siblings, Victoria’s Seekers of Infinite Love feels a bit semiautobiographical. Like the characters in her dysfunctional family comedy, being the child of a famed parent can come with its own set of hardships and emotional disconnection that leaves you yearning for other bonds to help fill that void. Victoria captures these ideas and so much more in her debut feature.
Kayla (played by Hacks star, Hannah Einbinder) is a claustrophobic writer who’s quick to avoid calls and texts from her family under the guise of being “busy working”, which rarely results in any actual productivity. Yet, when her NYC lawyer-brother Zach (Oh, Hi!’s John Reynolds) schedules a mandatory family meeting, they learn that their younger sister has run off and joined a cult. Kayla, Zach and their gambling addicted brother, Wes (Griffin Gluck), join up with a rogue deprogrammer named Rick (Justin Theroux) to track down their sister and bring her home.
Seekers of Infinite Love works so well as a dysfunctional family comedy because there’s a smooth and natural connection between the characters. It’s obvious that the film’s uber-talented cast did some serious bonding while prepping for and shooting the film. From a writing standpoint, each sibling comes with their own typical run-of-the-mill (i.e. recluse writer, know-it-all lawyer, degenerate gambler), but these run-of-the-mill traits but Victoria Strouse’s calculated script circumvents the conventional with a relentless hilarity that appears effortless for the entire cast. Strouse creates a perfect blend of outrageous situational humor and timely recycled gags throughout the story, all of which keep the audience engaged and reminded about their affection for these crazy characters.
Despite all her recent success with Hacks, including an Emmy win herself in 2025, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of Hannah Einbinder on the big screen. With Seekers, she proves to be a more than competent lead whose natural quirks elicit laughter by default. The same can be said for John Reynolds. His small, supporting turn in 2025’s Oh, Hi! stole the film in the opinion, and here he picks up where that film left off. Reynolds has such an obvious knack for humor and it’s on full display here. Seekers works so well because it’s a fully committed and collaborative effort that demands and delivers a deep-rooted connection between its full cast of characters.
The best stories always come with a bit of truth and reality sprinkled in. Victoria Strouse clearly draws inspiration from what she knows and runs wild with it in the best way possible. Her characters aren’t necessarily unique, and her premise isn’t anything ground-breaking or overly original, but Strouse’s understanding of the family dynamic and how to capture that dysfunction through a comedic lens is something to be cherished and adored in this little indie gem.
Grade: 3 and a half stars out of 5.