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Movie Review – “The Big Ask”
****
Review by Justin T. Bowler
One of the most fun indie films I’ve watched in a long time. Drama, Comedy, Drama, Comedy, Drama, Boom, Boom, Boom.
Written by Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman.
Directed by Thomas Beatty.
IMDB description: “Three couples head to the desert to help their friend heal after the death of his mother. They would do anything for him except for the one thing he wants.”
From the description on IMDB, I just guessed that this movie was going to be an independent update of “The Big Chill” (after all, it shares two of the three words in the three-word title). But, this movie is SO MUCH MORE. It feels like “The Big Chill” at first, certainly at minute nine, but by minute eleven, it hooks a sharp right and speeds off in a direction you are not expecting. I’m not going to ruin this first hook, but it is wonderfully unexpected.
This movie reminded me of a funny meme. A well-constructed meme takes a picture that clearly leads the viewer in one direction (sometimes this is a laugh), then, with the words added to it, it reveals a new direction (another laugh). Then, upon realization of both co-existing at once, the viewer typically enjoys it on a new level (third laugh). Example:
Funny picture. Then, the dialogue of the meme… funny joke. Then, the absurdity of these two co-existing…hilarious.
That is exactly what this movie does. It seems as if it going to be an ordinary indie with a simple dramatic premise, but it changes it just slightly (one laugh). It turns it completely upside down and takes it to the extreme (more laughs). As they tackle it with complete seriousness as in real life, the co-existence creates more and more laughs (more and more laughs).
The constant realism of the absurdity is what impressed me most. They took a simple concept like friendship, and raised questions about it:
What is true friendship?
How deep of a bond are our friendships with our closest friends?
What can they tolerate?
How much can we?
What could a good friend possibly ask you, that you, honestly, don’t know if you could give?
It takes a lot to make someone give in to the extreme, but it also takes a lot to make a person ask, in the extreme.
How can you tell if the person asking is really asking for help, or asking for greed?
(Why are there so many questions?)
These are all great questions. “The Big Ask” raises all of these questions and more (in a good way). Furthermore, it does it without launching itself into a slapstick screwball ’80s comedy; it remains true to the realistic premise. The comedy comes from dealing dramatically with an absurd situation. Once again, I go back to a meme.
To dissect this, we take a silly situation that a man actually wore a Batman suit to work to make a metaphoric point. But, in reality, the reaction to that absurd action is an HR meeting while dressed as Batman. In “The Big Ask”, they do the same thing. They use their absurd situation (or is it?) and treat it with absolute seriousness again and again. For example, two hookers are purchased (rented) (I’m not sure of the proper vernacular here), then, after the renters/buyers are dissatisfied with the quality of the girls, the discussion arises regarding how to get better ones next time. Yelp? (That’s a funny answer, and a realistic answer to the absurd question.)
All of this makes for a great real life adventure where drama and comedy are intricately woven from moment to moment. Characters make you laugh and cry and laugh again. And in the middle of it all is a very compelling and touching story about friendship. David Krumholtz is exceptional as the lead that does the asking. While I’ve seen him a few times on “Numb3rs” and thought he was great in “The Santa Clause” movies, here he plays a very real and subtlety charming schlub who is doing his best to deal with the aftermath of tragedy. One would not expect to find comedy here and he does, quite often. It makes us like the character, relate to the character and care for the character. One of the many things that make this film so enjoyable is the appearance of comedy when you don’t expect it. And that is the best comedy of all. For example, while searching for memes for this article I found this tweet…
(Fun picture) (Fun play on words, not only the switching of “walk into Mordor” with “wait for Godot”, but the clever use of the Waiting for Godot title. It is very specific joke that requires theater knowledge and cinema knowledge. I instantly laughed, was endeared to the author and I clicked on the IndieGoGo link connected to it.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eclect-a-fest
From there I was endeared by the charisma and character of the IndieGoGo campaign, which made me laugh. It was the best kind of comedy (not the funniest mind you), but the best kind, because it was in a place that I didn’t expect to find comedy. Just like in “The Big Ask”! (By the way, that IndieGoGo campaign seems pretty cool, check it out).
I mention David Krumholtz first because he is the lead, but he is not the only one in this film that really nails it. This movie is a who’s who of television stars displaying their best talents. First, Gillian Jacobs, who was always funny in “Community”, plays a more subtle and grounded character here. Just as charming and naturally attractive as ever, she illustrates a depth that we were shielded from on the NBC comedy. With such a fantastic performance, I’m sure it is only a matter of time before we see her starring in more or her own dramatic and, no doubt, charming films. Second, Zachary Knighton, from “Parenthood” plays the uptight and confused everyman who is plagued by his own problems, so much so, that he is blinded to the possibility that he may be in the wrong. I loved the quiet struggle of his character. Though he was always present, there was a deep underlying force that vexed him at all times.
Rarely, is such a fine-tuned portrayal seen. Third, Melanie Lynskey from “Togetherness” has the difficult task of finding likability in her character among the tears, hurt, and confusion she faces. While never wanting to admit she is wrong, she deals with the inner battle that she is no better than those she is passing judgment on. This constant struggle proves to be her greatest asset, as she keeps her character likable until the very end. Had she not shown such a struggle, then audiences may feel she gets her own comeuppance. Fourth, Ahna O’Reilly, of “How I Met Your Mother” and a number of other films, was the newcomer to me in this film. I wasn’t familiar with her work, but after this film she is certainly on my radar (I wonder if she has been in Maxim). It isn’t very often that a girl can just exude sex appeal without really doing anything “sexy”. As the outsider of the group in the film, she plays the sweet, innocent, smart girl, who hasn’t been around much. But, this juxtaposition to her sultriness, just make audiences want to watch her (it wouldn’t even matter what she was doing, you would still watch her: returning email, doing dishes, reupholstering a car seat… I mean, it just wouldn’t matter) (on a very sad side note, NO, SHE HAS NOT DONE MAXIM) (#Booooooooooooooooo) (Reluctantly, I’ll continue with the review).
Fifth, Jason Ritter from “Parenthood” is always in fine form. As the son of John Ritter (but, in all honesty, in this film he looks and acts like more of the son of Val Kilmer), he always turns in a great performance that fortunately allows him to step out of that giant shadow (he is, also, a theater guy, and I tend to be biased). Ritter’s performance here is the clear product of someone who studies and has built a career out of perfecting a character, though it may be stereotypical, and not as defined on paper (that is not a comment on this particular script, in fact “The Big Ask” is an exceptionally clever indie script). Ritter can take any two-dimensional character and fill in so many extra parts, not written on the page, and make it a three-dimensional character. Sixth (can you believe there are this many great performances?), Dale Dickey from “Justified” is right at home in the role of Lori in this film. In the hands of someone else, her character would be completely unappealing but, in the hands of a seasoned actress familiar with these types of personas, Dale Dickey creates a tragically lost soul in desperate need of help. Seventh, French Stewart, from “3rd Rock From the Sun”, rounds out the TV stars as a weathered and subtly distraught individual who, no doubt, has seen too much and truly hasn’t much left to get excited about. This is quite the turn from French Stewart’s brilliantly funny witless character of the ’90s, but very apropos for his recent, more serious work in the past decade. Lastly, and certainly not leastly (is that a word? My mac says it isn’t, but my mac also says mcnugget isn’t a word, and clearly it is (and it’s delicious)) (speaking of Mac inadequacies, if you type the mail code abbreviation for New Jersey (NJ) in your iPhone, it will autocorrect it to BJ) (NJ=BJ, according to Apple) (Chris Christie is the Governor of BJ (I wonder if his wife knows)) (Anyway, back to the review)… Not to be left out of the mix is Oscar nominee Ned Beatty. Although, it makes sense he is in this movie since his son Thomas Beatty (or his real name Ned Thomas Beatty, Jr. (OR as IMDB lists it… Ned Thomas Jr. Beatty) (Seriously, his name as listed as Ned Thomas JR. Beatty) (wtf) (I wonder if the iPhone autocorrected that?)) Anyway, Ned Beatty is in this movie in a small role and he is as wonderful as he always is (we’re not talking Otis from Superman wonderful, but certainly, charming and likable, etc.).
Overall, this film is subtle, dramatic and absolutely real. It deals with a crazy premise and shows the aftermath of real people affected by that premise. I seriously can’t say enough great things about this film. It made me so happy that I donated to that IndieGoGo campaign (here’s the link.)
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eclect-a-fest
4 out of 4 for Indie fans!
4 out of 4 for regular people!
4 out of 4 for meme creators!
Your indie film reviewer,
Justin Bowler
@JustinTBowler
“The Big Ask” plays May 30th – June 6th at Laemmle’s Monica Fourplex, 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA
It’s also available on iTunes, VUDU and Amazon.
Directed by: Thomas Beatty
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Run Time: 91 Minutes
Country: USA
Distributor: Tribeca Film
