My ideal moviegoing situation is to know nothing, literally not one thing, about a movie before I see it. Too often, previews either show all best jokes (Thelma, a case in point) or set up impressions that don’t fit the actual film. Sadly, my preferred state of blissful ignorance is hard to achieve.

Thus, I was delighted to see Coup!, a dark comedy about which I knew nothing and had not detected any buzz, written and directed by Joseph Schuman and Austin Stark (trailer). The anxiety I felt in the first half-hour or so was strictly the result of the puzzling situation the characters were in, not any trailer-review-celluloid mismatch. So, in case you’re spoiler-averse like me, I should stop here, except to say, see it!

In case you do like a little info, however, I’ll say that it’s set on an island near New York City during the deadly 1919 Spanish Influenza pandemic. A wealthy family living in isolation on the island is determined that they won’t be among its victims. They’re living in perfect isolation. But hey, nothing’s perfect, is it? And, they need a new cook.

The man they hire we know is not who or what they think he is. Still, times are hard, the island is isolated (the ferries stop!) and there aren’t a lot of choices. The wealthy homeowner is a muckracking journalist and a hypocrite, sending editorial salvos toward President Wilson for not taking more drastic anti-influenza measures. He pretends to be facing the peril shoulder-to-shoulder with his brethren in the City, when really, he’s safely in his mansion, miles away. He, his lovely wife, and children are going it alone—that is, with their three servants and new cook. They’re vegetarian, its nearly winter, and when the markets close . . . well, life is hard and getting harder by the meal.

There’s a lightheartedness to their dire situation and the infectious smile of Peter Sarsgaard (the iconoclast cook) somehow makes everything better. Great acting all around The journalist is played by Billy Magnusson, and Sarah Gadon plays his wife. The maid (Skye P. Marshall) and chauffeur (Faran Tahir) gradually (and charmingly) get drawn into the cook’s schemes, and only the housekeeper (Kristine Nielsen) is onto him. Now, how to get rid of her? Hmmm.

I thought it was a lot of fun and, in light of our recent covid trials, provides some food for thought, too.

Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating: 78%; audiences: 94%.