Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a bunch of reviews of the new flick THE BAXTER from the people behind the 90s MTV comedy show THE STATE, starring Michelle Williams, Michael Showalter, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Ian Black and the genius of The Dink himself, Peter Dinklage. We got 3 reviews right away, so that leads me to believe this really wowed the audience since so many people ran home and immediately wrote about this film. Without any further ado, here's the first of three looks at the film!
Hey Harry, I seem to chime in here maybe like once every 12-18 months....not quite a torrid pace, but when I do write with an early review its usually for something I've seen that I've seen that I'm passionate about and that I hope to turn on fellow AICN'ers to.
This time around, a very worthy candidate indeed - IFC Films' August release - "The Baxter". Immediately, anyone out there who is an old time fan of the MTV sketch comedy show "The State", the improv comedy group Stella, or the film "Wet Hot American Summer" probably already has this film on their radar, as well they should. The film is written and directed by Michael Showalter, former member of the State, current member of Stella, etc....and its populated with all his friends (from Stella-mates David Wain and Michael Ian Black to many other recognizable faces from The State, Wet Hot American Summer, and the NY underground comedy scene). Ok, enough with this exposition, and lets get to the point of this review.
Every single movie-geek fan of this site needs to see this movie. The Baxter is a romantic comedy told from the geeky male point of view. We all know the Baxter, in fact many of us are or have at one time been the Baxter. Trust me, you know this guy. He's the one who in the typical hollywood film who loses the girl at the last minute to the Hero of the story. Think Bill Pullman in "Sleepless in Seattle". What happens to this shmo after Tom Hanks comes and steals away Meg Ryan? The Baxter is his story.
In the film, the Baxter, portrayed by Michael Showalter, is a rather dorky nice-guy accountant who happens to have the amazing fortune of meeting the most beautiful girl in the world (played by the dazzlingly beautiful Elizabeth Banks ("Seabiscuit")) who happens to walk into his office one day, and inexplicably the Baxter and the Beauty fall instantly into the kind of comfortable love that most people (including the Baxter) usually settle for - a love without the spark, the magic, the passion, etc. Of course our hero The Baxter is always waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to his romantic pursuits. In a hilarious series of flashbacks we see how our hero the Baxter has always lost the girl at every phase in his life from jr. high, the prom, business school, etc. It just so happens that on the very day he meets the beauty, he just may have also met his true soulmate in the form of a mousy temporary secretary played wonderfully by Michelle Williams. I'm not going to spoil the flick but let me say that just as this movie sets out to upend typical hollywood romantic genre conventions it equally does a great job of conforming to them, so rest assured you cant help walking out of this flick smiling, laughing, and perhaps even with moist eyes.
The comedy in this movie is all about the absurd asides, the little genius, often non-sensical throwaway moments (one definite highlight is a dance-off between The Baxter and his rival for the heart of the beautiful Elizabeth Banks, played riotously by Justin Theroux), and the supporting cast is hilarious in every way. Fans of the State, Stella, or Wet Hot American Summer will no doubt be thrilled to see all the familiar faces, but even someone with zero familiarity with the talent on screen will be charmed in every which way by this very funny and very sweet flick. A final and very loud shoutout to Peter Dinklage who plays a gay wedding planner (oxymoron?) and who very nearly steals the flick in one hilarious scene. There definitely has to be a sequel/ or spin-off for his character - I demand it!
I also wanted to share some tidbits that came out of the Q&A following the premiere. "Stella", the tv series, is set to premiere on Comedy Central this June. "The State" may finally find its way out of the mtv vaults and onto dvd for a release later this year, and finally David Wain & Showalter have written a script called "They Came Together" which is a zany spoof of romantic comedies in the vein of "Wet Hot American Summer" and the hope is that they will get to make that flick soon.
Oh, and when you see this flick be sure to stay through the credits for two different codas, including an especially hilarious one featuring Paul Rudd's character.
peace.
Jake Ryan
The plot certainly sounds interesting. I love the idea of following the loser of all these romantic comedies and seeing if he'll ever not be "that guy" dumped for the true love. Here's the next one!
I've given an onset report previously, but this is my first review. So Talkbackers be nice.
"The Baxter"
Last night at the Tribeca Film Festival was the premiere of Michael Showalter's (The State) new romantic Comedy "The Baxter". At a brief Q & A following the film, Showalter decribed the film's inspiration as (I'm paraphrasing): Did you ever wonder what happened to Bill Pullman's character in "Sleepless in Seatle"? You know, the nice guy, but the WRONG guy?
The Baxter stars Showalter and about 4 other members of "The State", the 90's MTV sketch show. (The other chunk of The State's cast is now on "Reno 911".) It tells the story of a man who is nice, but ultimately always destined to be second best because he never takes chances.
The film owes a great deal to the screwball comedies of the '40s, with a few modern references thrown in to boot.
Michelle Williams, formerly of Dawson's Creek, plays a mousy-cute-as-can-be secretary to Showalter's nerdish CPA character. She handles comedy quite well and proves to really have some bigscreen presence.
Showalter is in love with his secretary but persues a life with a beautiful blonde woman that is still attatched to her ex-boyfriend, scene stealer #1 Justin Theroux (think Owen Wilson in "Meet the Parents"). Justin's character of course breaks up the wedding a la "The Graduate" in the very first scene, and the story is told as a flashback.
Peter Dinklage (scene stealer #2) plays a flamboyantly homosexual wedding planner. (I'll let that stand as it's own paragraph.)
In any event, this is a romantic comedy and there are no major surprises along the way. The only unique aspect to The Baxter is that it is specifically from the male loser's point of view, a point of view given up on in most romcoms.
The film will play twice more at Tribecca, and will get wider release this August. I recommend it HIGHLY if you've got a girlfriend and are trying to settle on a movie. She get's her romance, you get your funny, and not a Hugh, Sandra, J. Lo, or Julia in sight.
Incidentally, if you want The State on DVD, it's in the hands of MTV. Make your voice heard.
Also, Michael Black, David Wain, and Michael Showalter perform together as a troupe called "Stella". They have a new series starting on Comedy Central June 29th. Check it out.
I hope this made some sense.
Call me "Ishmael".
No! "Steven". Call me Steven.
I'll be in line to see this just to see The Dink prance around planning a wedding. Here's the last one!
Long time reader, first time reviewer.
The Baxter left me at the alter. . . laughing
Filmgrrrl here with a review of The Baxter which screened Sunday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. I have been looking forward to this film because of the people Michael Showalter had involved with this project. And from the audience's response I would have to say that they were looking forward to it as well. For those of you that have always wondered what happened to the guy/girl who was left at the alter at the end of the movie. This movie is for you!
Michael Showalter, in his feature writing/directing debut tells the story of Elliot, who repeatedly finds himself losing the girl he likes to some other guy.
The story starts out with Elliot (Showalter), a CPA meeting with his new Temp, Cecil (Michelle Williams) and just as he is about to ask her out, Caroline (Elizabeth Banks) interrupts him, and steals him away from Cecil. Having missed out on other opportunities with women in his past, Elliot feels he has finally met the one, and he will no longer be a Baxter. That is until Caroline's old flame re-enters the picture. Elliot is tormented with the prospect of returning to his status as a Baxter, and hence the heart, soul and comedy of the film.
Ultimately, The Baxter is a romantic comedy, with a simple story and talented cast. The supporting cast of this film is really what made this film work so well. Michelle Williams brought such warmth to her character, Peter Dinklage was great to see in a comedic role again, and Michael Ian Black, as always, left my sides hurting. Oh, and Paul Rudd has a great little scene at the end.
Here's to The Baxter, and IFC films! Baxter will be released theatrically in August!
