by Scott Batchelor, Contributing Writer
Vengeance is a come-and-go type of movie where you might have seen a trailer or a quick advertisement, and then you forgot it exists. It should not be one of those movies. The filmhas a bit of meta-ness to thinking you know what you are in for, only to be told something else and realizing that the true vengeance is the friends we made on the way to avenging a random hook-up’s death on the other side of the country.
B.J. Novak stars, writes, and directs in his first feature, playing the role of Ben, a writer for The New Yorker who gets an out-of-nowhere phone call that his “girlfriend”, Abilene (Lio Tipton), has died of an overdose. Bit of a problem, though: he doesn’t have a girlfriend. After reluctantly agreeing to attend the funeral, he finds himself in deep Texas.
The funeral is the first instance where we can see the dark humor come through. The uncomfortableness of Ben as he is forced to come up with a eulogy on the fly finds the line between funny and cringe funny. It is not Michael Scott levels of uncomfortable, but enough is done for you to feel for Ben. He doesn’t try to hide that Abilene is not important to him, but nobody seems to notice how generic he is when talking about her.
Ben finally realizes that he can land a big story and podcast when Abilene’s brother, Ty (Boyd Holbrook), suggests that Abilene could never overdose because “she wouldn’t even take so much as an Advil”. Ben believes that he can write a story on conspiracy theories and how people are so involved in themselves that they never face the truth. His producer thinks he finally has a story, and Ben engrains himself with the family.
We are rapidly introduced to Paris Shaw (Isabella Amara), Kansas City Shaw (Dove Cameron), and … Mason “El Stupido” Shaw (Eli Bickel). The family is thrilled to be a part of the podcast, as they all have famous ambitions. Paris is going to be a famous singer, and Kansas City is going to be a “famous celebrity”. Granny Carol (Louanne Stephens), or Granny for short, is quick-witted and just as much of a Texan as anyone else. She is excited to go hunting for a killer since the cops don’t do anything. Ben quickly realizes that his investigation is going to be all up to him.
The Shaw family is, at their introduction, painted as morons who are as stereotypical as possible. They all are gun nuts and don’t seem to have real ambitions for any real careers. But as the movie goes on, they are so much more than just a Texas family. They accept Ben for being different and don’t act like they have never met someone from New York before. In a lesser movie, the Shaw family would act as if everything Ben does is foreign. I can see worse scripts making jokes that the family doesn’t know what a podcast is or where New York is, and will laugh at his job. But instead, they are supportive, welcoming, and loving, and I want them as a family.
Ben is offered Abilene’s room to sleep in, and while it feels like the family is quick to move on, I think having some part of Abilene still in their life is what draws them to Ben. As much as the funeral scene highlighted the humor, this scene highlights the poignant theme of the movie. Ben takes a survey of the room and learns more in those five minutes than he did while he knew her as just a plaything. We are able to connect with Ben here, which allows us to see that he’s not all that shallow after all. He does have a heart and now we have permission to root for him.
Ben uses the time in her room to learn that Abilene was an actual person and could have been more to him instead of just a random name in his phone. The scene is devoid of any dialogue, and Novak nails the facial expressions and movements of someone who is in the room of a now-dead “girlfriend”. It does not take long for this movie to give you four scenes in a row that tell you exactly what kind of movie you are watching, and it is able to weave throughout that mood in a way that makes you invest no matter what the situation.
Novak is the driving force behind what makes this movie so good. He is in every scene riffing off other actors and showing how to be charming without needing to be condescending. It is especially highlighted when he takes a phone call from his producer, and while the two actors are not on screen together, his chemistry really shines even when he is acting by himself.
The mystery of this movie is really the only thing that misses the mark. I obviously won’t spoil anything, but any avid movie goer will have this one solved quickly. An overarching aspect of the mystery is Ben trying to solve a certain clue, and the answer he needed the whole time was literally on a shelf in Abilene’s room, not even hiding, basically yelling at him to look at it to find what he was looking for. But the mystery is only one selling point of this movie, and the wrong one at that.
The bland mystery doesn’t take away from the enjoyment because the characters breathe life into Vengeance. You will fall in love with everyone as they try to describe Whataburger to a New Yorker. They have some amazing moments of levity and provide incredible lines that you would find on inspirational Instagram posts like, “You just love it, and that’s how love works.”
Vengeance tells a fish out of water story, but in a more realistic way. The characters react in ways that you think a normal person would react, which makes this movie easier to connect with. Not everyone is an idiot or ignorant that the world is bigger than what they know, and that creates a more interesting dynamic. B.J. Novak may not have hit a home run with his first outing, but he is certainly on his way to being a notable name for must-see movies.
Score: 8/10
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