IS THIS THING ON? (B+) - There were times while watching Bradley Cooper's bracing portrait of a failing marriage when I thought, "This is as brilliant as a movie gets." But every so often a plot glitch took me out of the zone, and by the time the credits rolled, it was clear that his ending was undeserved.
But Cooper and his star, Will Arnett, lay it all out there as Arnett's Alex spills his guts, initially onstage as an accidental open-mic standup comic and later in his battles with wife Tess (Laura Dern) and others, in a well-packed ensemble comic drama. The secret weapon is actually Cooper himself, who steals the show as Balls, Alex's space-cadet actor buddy; the screen gets a jolt every time Cooper (almost unrecognizable at first in beard and glasses) bursts into a scene.
Balls and his wife, Christine (R&B singer Andra Day, very strong), join a gay couple as a Greek-chorus counterpart to the dysfunction of Alex and Tess, a former volleyball standout who is feeling rudderless as a soccer mom and who is being called back to the sports world as a potential Olympics coach. It is not easy to waste the talents of Laura Dern, but here she is unconvincing in an underwritten role. She just doesn't scan as a star athlete, and her ex-jock angst comes out of left field. (Pushing 60, she seems miscast as a mom of 10-year-olds, and she is way past her prime to be bemoaning her glory days on the court.)
Cooper does create an authentic world, one teeming with genuine relationships, whether it's the three couples who gather at a vacation retreat at the beginning of the film and again a year later at the end, or Alex and Tess with their sons, or Alex falling into bed with a fellow comedian during his break from Tess. Cooper, in fact, shows a keen appreciation for the open-mic standup scene. He casts real comics, including Amy Sedaris as the mother hen of the group and Jordan Jensen as the love interest. But his choice of former quarterback Peyton Manning as a potential distraction for Tess comes off as gimmicky. There also is one of those huge movie coincidences late in the film that provides a shaky fulcrum for the final reel and eventual resolution.
Cooper so far has had mixed results in helming Big Projects; compare "A Star Is Born" with "Maestro." It helps here that he cedes the lead role to Arnett, who exudes a raw authenticity and proves that he has the chops beyond clowning on smart TV shows like "Arrested Development" and "Bojack Horseman." The close-ups are intense throughout; Arnett's face often fills the entire screen, such that you can start to count his whiskers.
Cooper is probably revered as an "actor's director," and the cast here brings a boatload of talent to the workshopped scenes. He makes good use of Christine Ebersole and Ciaran Hinds as Alex's parents, and he has an understated Sean Hayes on hand, as part of the third friend couple, to provide a bit of a conscience for Alex. Everyone gets an A for group effort.
As noted above, this had the potential to be the best movie of the year. Maybe with a younger filmmaker I'd be more forgiving and grade on a curve. But a more indie filmmaker also might have had the courage to really take the gloves off and present a disintegrating marriage as a true shit-show, rather than this mainstream feel-bad romance. Perhaps a woman might have dug deeper with Dern into Tess' angst. All told, I have a hunch that, despite the flaws on display here, a second viewing might deepen my appreciation for what this team pulls off, in the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment