‘The Long Dumb Road’ Film Review: Buddy Comedy Travels Familiar Path, But the Company’s Great
Jason Mantzoukas and Tony Revolori make charming travel companions in an indie that lacks interesting women
Elizabeth Weitzman | November 7, 2018 @ 10:35 AM
Last Updated: November 7, 2018 @ 10:39 AM
Sundance Film Festival
It’s not always a compliment to note that a movie feels like the right fit for Sundance. Festival faves often deflate when they reach the real world, unable to survive without the eager enthusiasm of film fans. The Sundance premiere “The Long Dumb Road” is undeniably cut from familiar cloth. But it’s got enough charm to keep it buoyant long after Robert Redford waves the last blogger goodbye.
As with all road movies, its success rides on the company we’re required to keep. Happily, our two leads are unflaggingly delightful companions.
The trip begins when naïve teen Nat (Tony Revolori, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”) leaves home for his first year of college. He’s driving from Austin to Los Angeles when his car breaks down, putting him in a panic. Rather miraculously, though, he bumps into a friendly stranger just in time: Richard (Jason Mantzoukas) has just quit his job as a car mechanic and also happens to need a ride.
Richard is one of those only-in-the-movies lost boys, a fortyish iconoclast who wanders through life reacting to each moment as it comes. We’re not sure, at first, if he’s using Nat or truly connecting with him. But he seems genuine when he decides to take this kid under his wing, teaching Nat the rough ways of a world far from his middle-class upbringing.
The pair wind their generally merry way towards LA, staying in cheap motels, drinking in seedy bars, and devising romantic adventures. Nat encourages Richard to look up his high-school girlfriend (Casey Wilson); Richard urges Nat to socialize with two friendly sisters (Grace Gummer, Taissa Farmiga). Nothing goes quite as planned, of course. But they keep moving forward, encountering increasingly eccentric strangers (Pamela Reed, Ron Livingston) along the way.
Unfortunately, only Livingston’s amusingly domestic sociopath makes any impact among the quirky supporting crew. Oddly, director Hannah Fidell (“6 Years”) and cowriter Carson Mell (“Silicon Valley”) neglected to create any memorable women within their script. Reed grabs hold of her brief scene with unexpected gusto, as though she’s determined to wring something out of it. But it’s disappointing that a filmmaker blessed with the collective talents of Wilson, Gummer and Farmiga would waste them on generic characters designed solely to define the protagonists.
Besides, these heroes don’t need anyone else’s help. Mantzoukas and Revolori are ideally cast, bouncing off each other with a salty-sweet chemistry that’s as natural as it is entertaining.
Both actors get plenty of room to roam, and they make the most of it. Just as we think we’ve got these two figured out, one of them will veer in a new direction. And yet whenever Nat reveals unanticipated strengths, they feel organic. Richard’s flashes of vulnerability simultaneously come out of nowhere and yet make perfect sense.
Fidell doesn’t do as much as she might with the shifting settings, but she does make the interesting choice to keep her portrait of America politically unspecific. The primary conflicts, handled with intelligence and insight, arise from the class differences between the two men rather than prejudice from any outsiders.
We tense up automatically, for example, when the guys enter Red State territory, starting backwoods bar fights or breaking into bland suburban homes. But they encounter no judgments or assumptions based on anything other than their own words and actions. It’s an unexpected approach, but also an apt one for what is, ultimately, an amiable comic fantasy. While the lessons are light and the road well-worn, our perfectly mismatched travelers make the journey worthwhile.
13 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Ax Murderers to Notorious 'RBG' (Photos)
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
"Tyrel"
After his stunning performance in "Mudbound," Jason Mitchell is back in this drama alongside Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Cera and Ann Dowd. Buyers should go crazy for the film about a guy who goes on a weekend birthday trip to a cabin -- but he's the only black guy on the retreat.
Sundance
"Lizzie"
There's much interest in "Lizzie," which chronicles the life of Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the 1892 ax murders of her father and stepmother. Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart and Denis O'Hare star.
Sundance
"Burden"
Garrett Hedlund also gave a stellar performance in "Mudbound," playing the son of a man associated with the Ku Klux Klan. In "Burden," Hedlund is a repo man rising through the ranks of the KKK, but everything changes when he falls for a woman (Andrea Riseborough). The additional cast of Forest Whitaker and Usher should entice buyers.
Sundance
"The Miseducation of Cameron Post"
Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a high school teenager who gets caught in the backseat of her car with another girl. She's quickly shipped off for conversion therapy, where she for the first time feels like she can find her place among fellow outcasts. The strong themes of pain and loss while finding yourself and your identity should make it a hot title -- after all, it's based on Emily Danforth's acclaimed novel as well.
Sundance
"Juliet, Naked"
Perhaps one of the most anticipated films on the Sundance schedule, "Juliet, Naked" is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel. Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O'Dowd star in this comedic drama about a woman who is in a transatlantic romance with a once-revered musician.
Sundance
"RBG"
What better time to release a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg?
Sundance
"Piercing"
Based on Ryu Murakami's critically acclaimed novel, this steamy yet bloody thriller will get Midnight audiences' --- and buyers' -- heart rate up.
Sundance
"A Kid Like Jake"
Director Silas Howard is debuting his film "A Kid Like Jake," featuring an ensemble that includes Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd and Amy Landecker. Howard, who's directed boundary-pushing TV series like "This Is Us" and "Transparent," here focuses on parents whose young son prefers princesses to action figures.
Sundance
"The Happy Prince"
Rupert Everett's directorial debut details the final three years of Oscar Wilde's life. Colin Firth and Emily Watson round out the cast of this period film.
Sundance
"American Animals"
There will never be enough heist films in the world, and the cast of "American Animals," which includes Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan and Blake Jenner, promises to pull off one of the biggest art thefts in recent history. Plus, it's a true story.
Sundance
"Ophelia"
"Ophelia" retells Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the point of view of the melancholy Danish prince's presumed future wife -- played by Daisy Ridley, hot off "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Murder on the Orient Express." Naomi Watts and Clive Owen round out the cast.
Sundance
"Sorry to Bother You"
This film boasts one of the most impressive casts of any film heading to the festival, and that won't be lost on buyers: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun and Armie Hammer star in the original comedy.
Sundance
"Wildlife"
Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan star in Paul Dano's directorial debut, about a couple in a foundering marriage in small-town Montana in the 1960s.
Sundance
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Sundance 2018: Streaming companies and indie distributors will battle it out for these movies
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.