Written by Will Forte
Directed by Bob Odenkirk
I remember seeing the ads for this movie a really long time ago, like January, and then it didn't end up coming out until like September, I think because the studio pushed it back for no real reason. Usually this is a sign of a bad movie, or at least a failure in the studio's eyes, which isn't always a bad thing. I mean, hell, they tried to bury Southland Tales and I really liked that movie. When this came online I decided to check it out, I'm always down to watch a stupid comedy movie, so one night when I was trying to go to sleep I put this on, and before I knew it, it was 7am, I was still up, and I had finished the movie.
I was impressed with the story and the style of comedy, because I expected a really dumb everything, while I like Will Arnett to an extent, I don't think he's utterly hilarious, and while I think Will Forte was the most promising SNL cast member, that's like calling him the smartest of the retards. What did hold promise for me though was the fact that Bob Odenkirk directed it, and I have a tendency to like his sense of humor, not to mention I found Let's Go To Prison to be hilarious, despite its strange narrative and lack of any semblance of morality. In fact, that's what I liked most.
Right from the start you can tell what kind of movie this is going to be, Dean (Will Forte) and John (Will Arnett) are basically this century's Harry and Lloyd, two dimwits that don't understand that they aren't very smart, or that there is a difference between smart and otherwise. While they are well educated, they know nothing of person to person interaction, nor do they seem to understand any viewpoint outside their own. The narrative focuses on Dean and John and their dating follies, until their father, Ed Solomon (Lee Majors) falls ill and ends up in a coma. The two moron brothers are not able to talk to him while he is still conscious, they were busy renting a movie, a detour they gladly took even when they knew it was an emergency.
The brothers learn that their father's only wish yet to be fulfilled is to have a grandchild, so the boys make this their only mission, to have a child for their father because they believe that may keep him alive, having something to live for and survive his coma. Quickly, they spring into action and hit the dating scene with a motive, but they quickly realize they just aren't cut out for dating, mainly due to their enormous social ineptness.
Eventually they decide to find a surrogate mother, and they find one named Janine (Kristen Wiig), who does it because she needs the money. Upon meeting Janine they learn that she has a large, jealous boyfriend named James (Chi McBride) whom Janine has whipped to the point of hilarity. Once she points out that they need to actually learn to be good fathers, she quickly becomes impressed with their drive and determination, accepting their interpersonal incompetency, and understanding that at the core, they are both just very nice guys.
All the while John is desperately trying to pick up their hot next door neighbor Tara (Malin Ackerman), who takes a certain form of pity on the brothers, but really she uses them by taking care of their father so she can log the hours for her nursing school.
As I mentioned before, this is basically Harry and Lloyd Have a Baby, but it's not so unoriginal that it doesn't warrant praise, as it most certainly does. There takes a certain genius to make a movie about characters so stupid, and at the same time retain a heart and make the characters involved interesting.
Bob Odenkirk's direction is highly noticeable, you'll see many moments that are reminiscent of his work on Mr. Show, as far as the ridiculously unrealistic moments go. Heap on top of that a cast that seems to be very natural in their relationships and comedy, along with enough laughs to keep you awake and involved, and you have what is becoming rarer and rarer in today's cinema, a comedy movie that isn't your typical formula love story, that is character based and not just simple slapstick.
The characters drive the story because each of the people in the film is a definite key to the story, and by the end of the film they have learned to work together and put their personal differences aside in order to achieve a higher goal. High art? Of course not, but it contains enough laughs than it has any right to, which ends up being a more impressive film than most would expect.
7.5/10
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