WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Ah, the tangled webs we weave when lying becomes the M.O. in conducting any sort of business. It consistently seems to come back and bite us, even when the best laid plans of mice and men are in play–or, in this case, the best laid plans of a devious archeologist and his Israeli antiquities expert accomplice. Having established his self-professed name as a finder of rare Biblical artifacts, Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell) has suddenly fallen on some rather lean times, despite being on a church-centered tour to promote a recent finding. Still not making ends meet, Verdean and his research assistant Carol (Amy Ryan) are surprisingly called upon by a local pastor Tony Lazarus (Danny McBride) with a proposal.
First tasked with having an even newer discovery shipped over to America from the Holy Land to Lazarus’ church as “inspiration” for the believers, Verdean is then sent off to locate yet another prized artifact via funding from Lazarus. Linking up in Jerusalem with a friend, Boaz (Jemaine Clement), Verdean and crew attempt their find, only to be thwarted by local authorities. Frustrated and desperate for results, plus not wanting to return a failure, Verdean perpetrates an elaborate lie in order to “locate” and “find” the required piece. But when Boaz uncovers the deceit, what was thought a simple lie becomes a larger and more bloated situation as he takes advantage of Verdean’s secret to dig a deeper hole for both of them.
Next, my Mind:
Normally, this reviewer would shy away from a modern comedy for reasons expanded on previously, but given the overall history of comedic efforts by “Don Verdean” co-writer/director Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”, “Nacho Libre”) and the film’s “PG-13” rating, chances are willing to be taken. That said, “Verdean” honestly ends up falling a little short of both the aforementioned projects, as it didn’t quite encapsulate the quirky, off-beat zaniness of “Dynamite”, but nor did it match the simple silliness of “Libre”. Frankly, laughing out loud only happened a handful of times, otherwise mostly relegated to minor chuckling here and there. While the lack of constant irreverence and/or vulgarity was a welcome change, this really felt more like an off-kilter drama with some laughs in it. Strangely, its pokes at Christianity while often mockery, are other times scarily accurate.
Sam Rockwell is almost always solid when playing oddball characters (“Hitchhiker’s Guide…”, “Galaxy Quest”, etc anyone?), yet here, it seems like he’s just going through the motions, not really completely engaging the viewer like he normally might. But again, this also could be due to the comedic potential here not quite being realized. And the same could really be said for McBride’s Lazarus as well. In fact, the real scene-stealers end up being Clement’s over-the-top Boaz, with his crazy accent and wanna-be lothario demeanor, plus the funny supporting turns by Leslie Bibb as Lazarus’ former prostitute wife Joylinda and Will Forte’s silly former Satanist-turned-Christian pastor Fontaine. So, overall, “Don Verdean” may relieve us from some of the normal extremes in content so many modern comedies tend to offer, but it also ends up a frustrating exercise in failed potential.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
