DVD Review: Behaving Badly

A comedy that opens with the line “I am so fucked” is jumping off to a good start. After all, don’t they say that comedy comes from pain? The voice over continues: “I make one stupid bet with a sociopathic Lithuanian kid, and now my best friend’s in jail, my dad is a fugitive, they found a dead body in my mom’s trunk, the love of my life thinks I’m the antichrist, and I have crabs.” When Rick finds his mother after a suicide attempt, he calls 911, and when he gives his address, the dispatcher says happily, “Oh, hi, Rick.” And on the garage door, his mother had painted, “While I’m dead, feed the dog” (the name, incidentally, of the book the film is based on). And this is all in the first two minutes of the quirky comedy Behaving Badly. At that point, you’re either on board or you’re not. Rick speaks directly to the camera; that is, directly to us. And he takes us back to two weeks earlier, when, as he says, he wasn’t fucked – “not even close.” And the movie gets underway.

The title of the film reminds me of the British series Men Behaving Badly, except in this film it’s everyone who is behaving badly. Or, nearly everyone. We meet the other characters in quick succession, and one way or another each of them is fucked. There is Nina, the girl he’s in love with (and whose parents are religious nuts); Lucy, his mother (who enjoys regular visits to rehab when not attempting suicide); Kristen, his sister (who works at a strip club); Joseph, his father (who is generally absent from the home); and Mrs. Bender (the mother of his best friend who comes onto Rick, leading to an obvious reference to The Graduate).

Rick gets suckered into making a bet regarding the girl he lusts after, and is visited by the patron saint of teenagers, who provides some help. When a teacher drops dead (one of several), Rick takes the opportunity to invite Nina on a date – to the teacher’s funeral. And thus begins his wooing of the girl of his dreams.

If this film sounds ridiculous, that’s because in some ways it is. But it’s also genuinely funny. And most of it works. Sure, there is some stuff that is just a bit too far into the realm of the unbelievable. Mainly, the stuff with the priest (played by Jason Lee) was what didn’t work for me. But I was surprised by how often I laughed out loud while watching this film.

This is partly due to its cast. Mary-Louise Parker is particularly wonderful in the dual roles of Rick’s mother and Rick’s fairy godmother, Saint Lola, the patron saint of teenagers. She is always fun to watch, and in this film has some of the best lines. “Where is your father anyway? I called to scream at him, he wasn’t there.” “Arriving at rehab sober is like showing up to a tennis lesson without a racket.” And her delivery is always perfect. Elisabeth Shue tackles her role as the best friend’s horny mother with such delightful abandon, which is what helps sell the character and make her believable. (Plus, who wouldn’t want to be seduced by someone who looks like Elisabeth Shue?) Heather Graham is also hilarious at moments, as when she says, “You know, when I was a kid I wished for big boobs, and then I got them.” And Dylan McDermott is great as Jimmy Leach, the owner of the strip club where Kristen works.

The movie does have heart as well, found mostly in the Nina character, and in Rick’s feelings toward her. Though I also appreciate Billy’s line to Nina, “You’re hot, you don’t have to help people.” There are some other little touches that I appreciate, such as the series of announcements over the school’s intercom listing various events being canceled.

It’s interesting, because the film feels both complicated and simple simultaneously, and that actually works well when you consider this is from a teenager’s perspective. Life does seem complicated and confusing and huge, and then also quite simple in other ways when you’re a teenager. For Rick, the whole world is a complicated mess, but his focus is simple – be with the pretty girl.

Special Feature

The DVD includes the film’s trailer, which actually, oddly shows what I consider some of the worst moments of the film. It’s a much better movie than the trailer makes it out to be.

Behaving Badly stars Nat Wolff, Selena Gomez, Mary-Louise Parker, Elisabeth Shue, Dylan McDermott, Heather Graham, Cary Elwes, Patrick Warburton and Gary Busey. It was directed by Tim Garrick, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on October 28, 2014 through Vertical Entertainment.