When the film opens, Jeff is on a first date with a woman
he met through an online dating service. It’s not going well, and she wants to
leave. He asks her straight out what it is about him that makes her
disinterested, and her honest and mean answer is seriously funny. In part, she
tells him: “You sort of look like you’re smelling something that doesn’t smell
good, or like you’re like squinting even though you’re wearing glasses” and
“You kinda look like a lesbian newscaster, because you’re effeminate, but
not in a good way.” Meanwhile, Anne is getting a checkup after becoming
nervous about STDs. Her doctor asks her routine questions, including if she’s
had anal intercourse. Anne responds: “I don’t want to sound judgy. It’s not
for everyone. It could be for me, maybe under the right circumstances. I’d have
to be very relaxed, but I’m not like in an anal place.” She pauses, still
considering it, then answers, “No.” Her deliver is spot-on and
hilarious. And even though she’s there to get checked for STDs, we learn she
hasn’t had sex in more than a year.
These are great introductions to these two awkward people.
And of course I can’t help but like Anne because she almost immediately quotes
Kurt Vonnegut, one of my two favorite writers (she quotes my other favorite,
William Shakespeare, later on). Early in the film, Jeff’s parents suggest he
should date Anne, something of course we think too. (By the way, his parents
are played by Kevin Dunn and Marceline Hugot, two actors I’m always happy to
see.) But Anne has a crush on Max (Reid Scott), Jeff’s handsome neighbor, who
is in a book club with Jeff and two other awkward guys. The book club scene is
truly funny too. It’s goofy, but somehow not so over-the-top that it becomes
stupid or unbelievable.
Anyway, Jeff and Anne decide to make significant (though
not admirable) changes in their lives. Sara says, “I want to be like, you
know, one of those girls whose parents don’t want her to come home for
Christmas.” And Jeff says he wants to be one of those guys who is likely to
have sex in a public bathroom. But of course everyone is a little nuts in the
world of this film (just like the real world, I suppose), like the woman at a
party who tells Anne, “You know how it is when you love a man so much that
you end up in jail for your love.” Anne is desperate enough that she’s
ready to take this woman’s advice, as well as advice from daytime television
programs. Uh-oh!
I was laughing aloud through much of this film. Plus, the
movie has a lot of heart. As funny as it is, it’s also sweet. Both Adam Pally
and Sarah Burns deliver excellent, hilarious and honest performances. One thing
I really love about this film is that the people that Jeff and Anne date are
actually nice people, while Jeff and Anne themselves become sort of the jerks.
It’s a refreshing change from those films where you think the two friends
should be together because inevitably the guy the female friend is interested
in is a total bastard. One other thing: when they buy new clothes, I love
Anne’s fuzzy sweater, even though she decides to return it.
Slow Learners was directed by Don Argott and
Sheena M. Joyce, and was released on DVD on December 15, 2015. The DVD includes
the film’s trailer.
No comments:
Post a Comment