I'm supposed to like "The Wendell Baker Story". From having lived in the Austin area for the last 27 years and in Austin proper for the last 11, I recognized most of the locales in the film. Plus, I went to the University of Texas at the same time the Wilson brothers did (along with Matthew McConaughey & Renee Zellweger). I will freely admit that I like brother Owen's screenplays directed by Wes Anderson ("Bottle Rocket", "Rushmore", "The Royal Tennenbaums"). And Luke Wilson--as both writer and director--attempts to emulate the Owen/Wes style in this movie. Unfortunately, his skills as a writer don't match his brother's, and as a director he seems grossly incompetent. And as lead actor, he--as always--gets by on his good looks and Texas accent rather than any discernible talent.
The story is about Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson), a huckster who gets arrested for forging fake id's for illegal aliens. After he gets out of jail, he finds that his girlfriend Doreen (Eva Mendes) has dumped him and most of his friends want nothing more to do with him. While Wendell was in jail, he studied the hotel business, and that lands him a job in a retirement home run by the evil Neil King (Owen Wilson) and his henchman McTeague (Eddie Griffin). It's not much of a spoiler to say that Wendell saves the day, wins back Doreen and makes a few quirky friends along the way. But I won't give any details as to how this is accomplished.
Like "Rushmore", this is very much a story about a misfit who doesn't get that he's a misfit. Also, like Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, the film is peppered with really great--if somewhat obscure--songs from a bygone era. But whereas Owen and Wes opt for British pop music from the 1960's, Luke prefers Texas Outlaw country music from the 1970's. He even casts Kris Kristofferson in a key role and Billy Joe Shaver in a small role. Between the two of them, they wrote nearly half the country hits between 1969 and 1980.
Also unlike Owen Wilson, whose characters are funny, quirky and sad, Wilson's characters are merely quirky. And unlike Wes Anderson, Luke doesn't know how to properly set up a shot or light an indoor set. Most of the indoor scenes are dramatically under-lit. Often, the sun coming through a window will render a character's arm or stomach visible, but the head will be shrouded in darkness. This would work well if this were a film noir, but given that this is supposed to be a feel-good comedy, I have to assume this was not intentional. It is a real problem in the scenes that Owen and Luke have together, since the only physical difference between the two is their hair color.
I also need to say that the acting--except for the notable exception of Will Ferrell making the most of a small part--is mediocre at best. Luke Wilson has always been one of the blandest actors in Hollywood. Owen is a talented actor, but not here. Eddie Griffin is truly awful. Although Eva Mendes is pretty to look at, she's not much of an actress. And it's really saying something when I mention that Luke can't wring a good performance out of Harry Dean Stanton or Seymour Cassel.
There are things that I liked about this movie. I have already mentioned the soundtrack and Will Ferrell's performance. I also give Wilson props for filming in North Central Austin (where I once lived and still frequent) instead of the usual haunts of UT, downtown and South Austin (seen in "Slacker", "The Life of David Gale" and "Grindhouse") where I rarely have any reason for going.
Overall, I would have to say this movie was done by an enthusiastic but talentless amateur trying too hard to step out of his more-talented brother's shadow. But for Will Ferrell, I would have given this 5 out of 10. But Ferrell is so good, I will give it an extra star.
The story is about Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson), a huckster who gets arrested for forging fake id's for illegal aliens. After he gets out of jail, he finds that his girlfriend Doreen (Eva Mendes) has dumped him and most of his friends want nothing more to do with him. While Wendell was in jail, he studied the hotel business, and that lands him a job in a retirement home run by the evil Neil King (Owen Wilson) and his henchman McTeague (Eddie Griffin). It's not much of a spoiler to say that Wendell saves the day, wins back Doreen and makes a few quirky friends along the way. But I won't give any details as to how this is accomplished.
Like "Rushmore", this is very much a story about a misfit who doesn't get that he's a misfit. Also, like Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, the film is peppered with really great--if somewhat obscure--songs from a bygone era. But whereas Owen and Wes opt for British pop music from the 1960's, Luke prefers Texas Outlaw country music from the 1970's. He even casts Kris Kristofferson in a key role and Billy Joe Shaver in a small role. Between the two of them, they wrote nearly half the country hits between 1969 and 1980.
Also unlike Owen Wilson, whose characters are funny, quirky and sad, Wilson's characters are merely quirky. And unlike Wes Anderson, Luke doesn't know how to properly set up a shot or light an indoor set. Most of the indoor scenes are dramatically under-lit. Often, the sun coming through a window will render a character's arm or stomach visible, but the head will be shrouded in darkness. This would work well if this were a film noir, but given that this is supposed to be a feel-good comedy, I have to assume this was not intentional. It is a real problem in the scenes that Owen and Luke have together, since the only physical difference between the two is their hair color.
I also need to say that the acting--except for the notable exception of Will Ferrell making the most of a small part--is mediocre at best. Luke Wilson has always been one of the blandest actors in Hollywood. Owen is a talented actor, but not here. Eddie Griffin is truly awful. Although Eva Mendes is pretty to look at, she's not much of an actress. And it's really saying something when I mention that Luke can't wring a good performance out of Harry Dean Stanton or Seymour Cassel.
There are things that I liked about this movie. I have already mentioned the soundtrack and Will Ferrell's performance. I also give Wilson props for filming in North Central Austin (where I once lived and still frequent) instead of the usual haunts of UT, downtown and South Austin (seen in "Slacker", "The Life of David Gale" and "Grindhouse") where I rarely have any reason for going.
Overall, I would have to say this movie was done by an enthusiastic but talentless amateur trying too hard to step out of his more-talented brother's shadow. But for Will Ferrell, I would have given this 5 out of 10. But Ferrell is so good, I will give it an extra star.