Tribeca Film Festival 2022 review: ‘VENGEANCE’ is an impressive directorial debut.

VENGEANCE

If you haven’t checked in on B.J. Novak since The Office, you’ll be surprised by the pitch-black tone of his directorial film debut, Vengeance. There are great laughs aplenty here, but the film presents an overall bleak view of humanity as it relates to our ability to connect and communicate. This is a stellar premier film.

Novak pulls triple duty as the film’s writer, director, and star. He brings the perfect mix of smug arrogance and bewildered empathy to Ben Manalowitz, a New York writer (and aspiring podcaster) who is coasting through every moment. Ben’s catchphrase is “100 percent”, but the audience quickly comes to see that Ben isn’t really giving 100 percent to anything. His life is all surface, no depth. He believes he’s having deep conversations about his work and the meaning of society, but he’s looking at his phone the whole time. His relationships are nothing but informal hookups.

Then Ben gets a fateful call from West Texas – his former girlfriend (well, they had hooked up a few times), Abilene Shaw, has died of a drug overdose. Abilene’s family are under the impression that she and Ben were a real couple, and invite him to the funeral. Ben shows up in West Texas out of pity, but quickly decides to stay for more selfish reasons: Abilene’s family suspects foul play, and Ben can’t turn down a chance to tackle the “holy grail” of podcasting: a dead white girl. Ben’s editor mails him some fancy podcasting equipment faster than you can say “true crime”, and he’s off to discover the truth about Abilene (and hopefully make himself famous in the process.)

I’m still in awe of this supporting cast. Boyd Holbrook somehow manages to balance sincerity and absurdity as Ty, Abilene’s revenge-crazed brother. Could this be Ashton Kutcher’s best work since Dude, Where’s My Car? (don’t get it twisted, I mean that as a sincere compliment!) Kutcher’s Quintin Sellers is complex and layered. As a small-town record producer, Quintin is equally opportunistic and charismatic. Quintin provides a twisted country-fried contrast to Novak’s Ben, and their few scenes together are some of the strongest of the film. The female characters are unfortunately more thinly written, and mostly function to help us better understand the men.

A film like this doesn’t work without a rock-solid script, and this one delivers. Good comedy writing ensures that the pace of the film is maintained; great comedy writing is concerned with showing us deeper truths about character that may produce a smile, but also a sting. The soundtrack is also self-aware – I’ve never laughed so hard at a Lana Del Rey song.

Vengeance is a dual threat – a legitimately funny comedy that also lands sincere dramatic moments. It left me excited for whatever Novak has coming next (hopefully a podcast.)


DIRECTOR
B.J. Novak
PRODUCER
Jason Blum, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath
SCREENWRITER
B.J. Novak
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Lyn Moncrief
EDITOR
Andy Canny, Hilda Rasula, Plummy Tucker
CAST
B.J. Novak, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, J. Smith-Cameron, Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara


Review: ‘The Founder’- Witness the creation of the McDonald’s empire

The fastest way to get to the top is by standing on the backs of others, Ray Kroc discovered this and used it to become one of the most successful businessmen this country has ever known. John Lee Hancock (Saving Mrs. Banks) directs Oscar nominated actor Michael Keaton as the man who brought McDonald’s to every hometown in America.

Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is a traveling salesman who currently specializes in selling Prince Castle brand milkshake makers. Life on the road has been a struggle for Ray, each day he visits restaurants and drive-ins across the Midwest finding more resistance to his sales pitch than enthusiastic buyers. He has a comfortable life back home in Illinois with his wife Ethel (Laura Dern) and a simple but comfortable living, but success to do something great keeps driving Ray back to the road to find his legacy. A chance order from the McDonald’s brothers in San Bernadino, CA will change his life forever.

Ray meets with the two brothers who own and operate the establishment, Maurice “Mac” McDonald (John Carroll Lynch) and  Richard “Dick” McDonald (Nick Offerman), who have created an innovative way of supplying hamburgers to the public. Awestruck by their creation, Ray convinces the brothers to let him take their McDonald’s idea nationally, and this is where the real story begins. Through all the struggle, the persistence of Ray Kroc leads to success and his control of the franchise’s present and future. The evolution into one of the most powerful men in business was paved with betrayal, cunning and ingenuity, which makes the story dramatically unfold.

Michael Keaton’s enthusiasm and delivery bring Kroc’s persona to life in a near perfect way. Throughout the film, we witness the transformation of a person starved to prove himself to a person drunk on success and whether you love him or hate him, he got there his way.  John Carroll Lynch and Nick Offerman are wonderful as the McDonald’s brothers. Each step of their rise and fall is felt in their portrayal of the characters and you can’t help but cringe as their decimation unfolds. The story centers around the tense relationship between the brothers and Kroc and these actors bring a wonderful mix of humor and drama to help make this story as mesmerizing as it is.

Overall, The Founder is an interesting tale of the rise of McDonald’s and men who brought the “Golden Arches” to the country. It’s a sad look at the glutton of success and repulsive effects it has on those in the way. The performances make this film worth the journey.

Stars:

3 out of 5

Trailer: