 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 email this review to a friend
If you're aware of the comedy trio Stella, consisting of Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, and David Wain, or if you managed to catch their brilliant Comedy Central series (whose second season is still unconfirmed) this past summer, then you probably know what to expect from The Baxter. It's not as unhinged or as ingeniously avant-garde as Stella's shorts or series, but it is inspired--if flawed--silliness. The Baxter follows the plight of Elliot Wendall Sherman (Michael Showalter), the baxter of the film's title. But before I continue, I should probably pause to define the word "baxter." As Elliot tells us at the movie's start, the baxter is the hapless guy who, at the end of one of those Hollywood romantic comedies, has his beautiful fiance melodramatically leave him at the alter for the hunky ex-boyfriend who's been trying to win her back for the whole film (as an Internet Movie Database user said, the term is quite possibly a reference to Jack Lemmon's unlucky C.C. Baxter in The Apartment). Thus, all his life, Elliot has been met with romantic misfortune after romantic misfortune. There is a very amusing montage of a young Elliot's (Peter Stadlen) romantic failings at his high school prom, a football game, and even a random walk on the street with his girlfriend. Elliot, like most baxters, is uptight, tries to be funny but fails, and is just really awkward in most social situations excepting those with his fellow baxters. However, at the beginning of the film, he meets the shy but lovely temp Cecil Mills (Michelle Williams). There is an immediate spark that they both recognize, but unfortunately Elliot is wooed soon after by the beautiful yet hopelessly shallow Caroline Swann (Elizabeth Banks). Elliot and Caroline eventually get engaged--why Caroline would be attracted to Elliot is of no concern; it's just the perpetual curse of the baxter--but things are jeopardized when Caroline's old high school boyfriend Bradley Lake (Justin Theroux) shows up out of nowhere and tries to win Caroline back. All the while, Caroline and Elliot slowly come closer and closer. Is there any chance for a baxter to end up happy? The Baxter seems to think so, but writer-director-star Showalter shakes things up enough so that you're not really sure whether or not things will turn out rosy for Elliot until after the credits roll. Showalter's screenplay is something of a mess, but it's still sweet and sly and charming. It's messy, yes, but endearing, and suffused with its own kind of offbeat charm, which for me makes it many miles more enjoyable than typical Hollywood romcom schlock like Runaway Bride. This is Showalter's directorial debut, and though some of the editing is a mite choppy, he eventually hits the right note with a hipster, New Yorker-style city and some Woody Allen-esque imagery, like a shot of Elliot sprinting across the Brooklyn Bridge that zooms out and out and out and out and...yeah, you get the idea. It's like Allen's climactic run in Manhattan, only without the intimate sense of desperation. It still works, though, just because of how damned weirdly cute Showalter's idea of the romcom is. The cast sports plenty of small-time comedic figures scattered throughout; the other two members of Stella make appearances as do many members of The State, the other comedy group that Showalter belonged to. Showalter himself is very funny and likeable as Elliot, even if it doesn't always seem that he's capable enough to fill up the big screen as the leading man; then again, that's probably the point of The Baxter. Elizabeth Banks and Justin Theroux are fine and dandy in supporting roles, but it's Michelle Williams as Cecil Mills that ends up stealing the show. She's so awkward and aloof yet at the same time so warm and beautiful and inviting. She'd be a much more appealing bride than Banks' screechy Caroline, but it is the curse of the baxter that Elliot realizes this far too late. Showalter and Williams have the same kind of bubbly, adorable chemistry that the entire film exudes. The only real problem is when this lovely atmosphere collides with the cruder Stella/State atmosphere. While Michael Ian Black is hilarious as Ed, Elliot's manly man friend, David Wain merely replicates his Stella persona, and it does not work well at all in the confines of The Baxter. Wain randomly spouts odd or disgusting bits of trivia, and while this would work in a Stella stage show, or an episode of their TV series, it sticks out like a bright red sore thumb amongst the film's charming romantic comedy sensibilities. --Full review at REELPICKS.CJB.NET-- email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
RSS | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About MatchFlick® | Press | Contact Us | FAQs
Partnership and Advertising Opportunities | Movie Database | Merchandise ©2004-2008 MatchFlick®. All rights reserved. ©MOVIE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED AND THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS |