Vengeance

It’s a detective story. It’s an insightful commentary on the state of us, which is to say us, the U.S., in this divided, disjointed, distracted age. It’s a comedy, sharp and frequently hilarious. It is, above all, consistently surprising.

A dark comedy thriller that could be a “Black Mirror” episode and leaves you with the same existential turmoil as Bo Burham’s “Inside.”

Vengeance is unexpected and, in the best way, weird. In his first film as a writer-director, B.J. Novak takes familiar elements, but puts them together in ways that are original and unexpected. Even when the plot turns go off the deep end, it’s impossible not to appreciate Novak’s audacity.

Vengeance is a small but ambitious film, and the murder mystery is its weakest element: Novak has so many threads going that he doesn’t quite know how to tie them up. But he’s made a shrewd satire that’s a pleasure to watch.

It’s mildly amusing stuff that delivers no surprises, but may muster a few laughs.

In fitting with its main character’s desperate aversion to vulnerability, Vengeance squirms away from any satirical or emotional territory that might genuinely hurt.

The scattershot new media satire Vengeance might have been merely a toothless provocation replete with both-sides false equivalences were it not so well-scripted and well-directed on a scene-to-scene basis.

BJ Novak is best known for his role as Ryan Howard, a character in the US version of “The Office.” After “Vengeance,” he may well become better known as a writer and director. Novak also stars in this film as Ben Manalowitz, a writer and podcaster in New York City. Following a series of opening scenes that establish his self-regard, Ben receives a call that Abilene, a casual hookup, has died. Her family is under the misperception that Ben is the love of her life. Ben attends her funeral in West Texas and decides to explore the story behind her death while also crafting a podcast based on the characters (and they really are characters) he meets along the way. Ben also deludes himself into thinking this is a chance to offer his own profound pronouncements about the general state of America. Clearly, Novak’s script has a lot of balls in the air. He serves up a murder mystery. He explores the quirks and kindness of Abilene’s family, a clan that turns out to be utterly appealing. It makes a few observations about the wider world. The script does all this with a lot of heart and several plot twists and jokes at Ben’s expense. Most of all, Novak skewers the condescension regularly aimed at the Red States, while demonstrating that Texas does offer plenty of quirky comic material. FYI, Abilene’s sisters are named Paris and Kansas City. “Unique” names, by the way, are a rich tradition in the Lone Star State. In the late 1800’s, James Stephen Hogg (later to become governor) named his only daughter Ima. The story, widely reported, that Ima had a sister named Ura is apocryphal. “Vengeance” benefits from a stellar supporting cast that includes Issa Rae (“Insecure”) as Ben’s podcast boss, Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos”) as Abilene’s grieving brother, J. Smith-Cameron (“Succession”) as Abilene’s mother and a strong performance by Ashton Kutcher as the owner of a small town recording studio who seems to be equal parts kind, self-aware and predatory. Not everything works here. The murder “mystery” is ultimately pretty mundane. But the dialogue crackles and there are several laugh-out-loud moments. A sampling: “This is El Stupido. It’s okay, Ben. He doesn’t speak Spanish.” “’Y’all’ is a cultural appropriation.” “In my life, everything starts with a regret… It’s all regrets. Make ‘em count.” It’s all buoyed by a pervasive tone of appreciation for others and self-deprecation that redeem the movie’s venial sins. In a world that’s overstocked with condescension and people who see life as a series of chances to puff up their self-worth on social media, this film is a compelling antidote. In this case, “Vengeance” is just, merciful and very, very funny.

Act 1 is kinda slow but ok. 2nd Act gets interesting. Climax was a bit abrupt. Like the ending of Se7en but rushed. Nice indie vibe though.

The social commentary holds up well in this movie, as the murder mystery and character development are quite under-developed. Could of been so much better.

bad [ bad ] adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36. not good in any manner or degree. bad [ bad ] adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36. not good in any manner or degree.

Bottomline: Imagine a coastal elite fantasy. You're a NPR-style liberal writer. And John Mayer is your best friend. And you guys have one-night stands. And one of those one-night stands is obsessed with you. But she meant nothing to you. And you find out she dies. And the family begs you to go to the funeral. And you must solve the murder because the hick-town locals are stupid. Like Pauly Shore movie stupid. And they need your detached, elite, above-it-all intelligence to help. And you monetize your hick tourism to make yourself famous with a podcast. And you get your elitist chance to rant at them about Covid. Fittingly, imagine Ryan from the office had a podcast about the futility of America and solving a murder and his own self-importance. That's this movie.