Monuments

With an almost circus-like score setting the tone, a supernatural touch and a terrific ensemble cast playing characters that range from the eccentric to the deeply eccentric, Monuments is at times grounded, at times almost hallucinogenic — and always smart and entertaining.

In Monuments, the comedy outweighs the drama, for better and worse. For better because Sullivan is an engaging comedic presence, at once gawky, twitterpated, and restless. For worse, because the ending does not have nearly as much emotional effect as it probably should.

There’s not a lot here that’s wholly new, and the film’s tone of melancholy, offbeat uplift signals from the outset that we shouldn’t expect any grand revelations. Instead its pleasures come in smaller packages.

What could have been a powerful, timely, and potentially funny meditation on the grieving process is instead a work that's about as thin and flavorless as a gum wrapper.