Der Do-Deca-Pentathlon

Two brothers (Mark Kelly and Steve Zissis) compete in their own private 25-event Olympics.

What is the point of this film? I am not sure -- the struggle of two brothers, a special kind of love, the dissolution of a marriage (a theme explored in "Jeff Who Lives at Home")... which is the point? Are any of these the point?

I did not get a deeper meaning out of this film, so if there is one it passed me by and will have to wait for a second viewing. But I definitely appreciated the humor, and the competition, and the morality (or lack thereof) of it all. And I also appreciate that, unlike "Jeff", this film does not rely on big name actors and still gets the story out just as well. It may suffer some publicity, but those who watch it will not be let down.

Nice, yet unsatisfying. The story of the competition. But the background is not well developed. The competition itself is not developed. The wife seems like from a story arc that was cut in the final version. The mother? What's the point of having her in the movie altogether?

Jeremy (Mark Kelly) and Mark (Steve Zissis) are two bickering brothers, who have had a contentiously violent relationship their entire lives. In an effort to see who can rightfully dub himself "the better brother," they concocted an event called "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon" when they were young, and held twenty-five events to see who could win more and earn the title. During the "underwater challenge," the boys' grandfather thought they were drowning and his interference pulled the plug on the event, which was never finished.

Since then, they have been estranged, until the boys' mother, Alice (Julie Vorus), holds a party for Mark's birthday where Jeremy is invited and surprisingly shows up. Both men, now in their early thirties, have gone on to become modestly successful. Jeremy, who is still single, lives off of poker tournaments he frequently plays, and Mark is married to the lovely Stephanie (Jennifer Lafleur), with their only son (Reid Williams).

Shortly after his arrival, Jeremy pens a contract, which, when signed by both brothers, okays them to partake in a revival of "The Do-Deca-Pentathlon" idea, where they start all twenty-five events over again from scratch. The stakes, if there were any, remain the same, along with the title, and it shows that these brothers haven't forgot about the "importance" of a sophomoric title or the compelling feeling they get from winning and triumphing over the other sibling. That is their way of saying "I love you." In order to keep quiet about the event, the brothers try all they possibly can to hide their events from their family, especially Stephanie, who is sick of the childish idea. Mark has been troubled quite a bit in his past, with high anxiety and psychiatric treatment, that begin to come forth when the event starts. He is not in proper shape to be doing this event. In fact, neither of them are. They are far too old for childish activities.

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon was written and directed by the Duplass brothers, Jay and Mark, who have sort of pioneered the genre of mumblecore, where amateur actors immerse themselves into humanly flawed characters, accompanied with naturalistic dialog and recognizable cinematography. They brothers continue with their theme or sibling disconnect, which was the main point of focus with their last feature, the wonderful and underrated Jeff, Who Lives at Home. This is their return to mumblecore, by definition, where as their two previous features included rather mainstream actors, yet still kept the rules of the genre in place - a featured bonus I hope they continue to do.

The only problem I can see is the same one I found with their two most recent efforts; the film's reliance on dead in the water style. The Duplass brothers love to utilize quick camera zooms during certain shots, to either put emphasis on something or just make it more apparent to the viewer. It's a distractingly unnecessary addition that leaves a lot to be desired. The brothers already have their own style. They don't need to perpetuate it even more than they already have.

The picture is concise at only seventy-six minutes, and its leads have the chemistry and the charm to carry the picture all the way through (especially Zissis, who has worked with Jay and Mark since their second feature, Baghead). The Do-Deca-Pentathlon illustrates a quirky and childish game, and the characters involved, with heart and soul, never condescending to the level of parody or ignorance that would've resulted in a cheaply made independent film. The Duplass brothers are too smart to fall in that territory.

Starring: Mark Kelly, Steve Zissis, Jennifer Lafleur, Julie Vorus, and Reid Williams. Directed by: Jay and Mark Duplass.

A little assistance here, readers?

Dodeca- means twelve.

Pentathlon is a series of five events.

There are 25 events between the two brothers.

On further examination, I suppose it means 2 (Do) multiplied by 10 (Deca) equals 20, plus the 5 (Pentathlon) gives us a final 25 events. However, something seems not right mathematically to be mixing signs. There is a rule is algebra I thought regarding interchanging mathematical signs and that whole PEMDAS thing?

Maybe this is overanalyzing a random title choice, and I know arithmetical calculations are not my forte, but what am I missing here?

That is, aside from this independently shot Duplass Brothers film where the insanely competitive two brothers taking it way too far over and over again is impossible even by Duplass standards? And how this causes the viewing experience to vacillate between uncomfortable, unbelieving, disgust at the characters, and compassion and empathy for what deep and intense love these brothers must be trying to mask with their immature behaviors- so fierce that, frankly, one is utterly appalled by how they are treating not only one another, but their supposed loved ones?

The last thirty minutes were redeeming- for both the story and the characters themselves, but for some viewers it will too little too late.

The Duplass Brothers have a talent for making the awkward and surreal seem grounded, ordinary, and heartwarming. But this time their "Penta-Pentathalon", or perhaps "Quintupentathalon" fell short of the mark; not quite Winner's Circle material.

It is the mundane, every day, ordinariness of the Duplass Brothers's (Jay and Mark) films that make them the respected indie-film directors that they are today. Their films -- Cyrus, The Puffy Chair, Baghead and Jeff, Who Lives at Home -- are all solidly grounded pieces of work in a slightly warped reality. This is the Duplass selling point ... one I have allowed myself to enjoy with each of their films (to varying degrees). It is only "slightly-warped" because 85% of their film is realistic and the film-making duo takes one element of normalcy and amplifies it beyond belief ... here they do so with two ultra-competitive brothers. While many siblings compete with one another -- the mere title of this film -- implies that that these two take it over the top with a competition of 25 events to one-up the other. We don't get to see all of them here; but the brothers compete ... much to the chagrin of the wife of one of them (the other is un-married -- Surprise!) who has set up a weekend birthday party for her husband whom her brother-in-law infiltrates and causes the steady-hubby to go rogue. There are laughs and smiles to be had here -- like all of the Duplass films -- but there are also uncomfortable moments of real-ness which make the films work on a base-line of reality. I appreciate what these guys do. They celebrate the mundane of our everyday lives but also give it a slight twist to make something a bit more interesting. The film is quite short (under an hour and a half) and I wish it had carried out a bit further ... I won't get into the why here. This isn't a movie that will win numerous awards; but it is a pleasant way to pass some time.