Passenger Side

I attended the World Premiere of "Passenger Side" at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. Written and directed by Matthew Bissonnette, "Passenger Side" stars Joel Bisssonnette and Adam Scott as two brothers reluctantly brought together on a mission to find...well, we're not quite sure. And, yes, Joel is Matthew's brother, so it would be hard to escape the autobiographical implications of Bissonnette's script.

Road movies are not that rare. What is novel, however, is one which takes place within the confines of one city. Here the location is Los Angeles.

"Passenger Side" is indie all the way -- in its look, sound, and quirky sensibilities. Nothing fancy here, just a character-driven narrative that is both poignant and witty, as one would expect from a story centered around two brothers driving around in a car for a day. The strength of a film like this lies in the impact of the sketch comedy represented by each stop along the way, and some vignettes are gut-bustingly hilarious.

What makes this film unique, though, is the way in which the filmmakers worked the music into the story. Unlike most movies where songs are added in post-production as they become available, Bissonnette actually crafted scenes around tunes that he already had in mind. It's as if the movie is a series of music videos, with the action set to the songs, not the other way around. I got chills when the pair reached the shores of the Pacific with Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" playing in the background ("you can hear the boats go by...").

"Passenger Side" consists of two brothers (Adam Scott and the writer/director's brother, Joel Bissonnette) spend the entire movie on a roadtrip--driving aimlessly all over the greater Los Angeles area. Much of the time you have no idea why they are doing this nor what the one brother is looking for during this day. All you really do know is that they talk A LOT and meet lots of quirky, almost funny characters.

This film by Matt Bissonnette is the perfect hipster movie. It has a soundtrack filled with discordant music that most other folks would dislike. It has TONS of dialog that is extremely smug and self-aware (and no one actually ever speaks this way in real life). And, it has no real purpose...it just drifts aimlessly until the movie ends. None of these things are what others want in a film but hipsters, who generally revel in finding a film no one else understands or cares to understand, will love it because it's just a rather unenjoyable experience. The film has a few moments but never does anything to capitalize on them.

With no CGI or big-name stars to suck you in, indie movies often have to fall back on the virtues of a decent script and a well-chosen soundtrack. Matthew Bissonnette's low-key comedy drama, Passenger Side, rides into town trailing some rather dubious "poster quotes" in its wake. I'm talking about the so-called reviewer who claims "No, it's not like Sideways; it's a lot better in fact".

See what he did there? The bracketing of this movie with Alexander Payne's 2004 comedy, suggests that Passenger Side is nothing short of a modern classic. After all, Sideways picked up the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, which even allowing for the stupidity of the Academy's voters still means something. But in my opinion, this likable story of a couple of LA slackers on the road to nowhere, isn't in the same league as any of writer/director Payne's best work.

Matthew Bissonnette's third full-length film stars his brother Joel as Tobey, the ex-junkie brother of failed novelist and world-class cynic Michael (played by Adam Scott). The movie begins with Michael in his Echo Park bachelor pad, trying to dodge a call from Joel, who needs a ride somewhere. Reluctantly he agrees to take his younger sibling to some job interviews, but the real purpose of their day-long car trip turns out to be a case of "cherchez la femme". Joel is desperate to locate Theresa (Robin Tunney), supposedly the love of his life, but the trail involves many diversions and misadventures.

Shot on HD video in just 14 days, Passenger Side also has a pleasingly retro feel about it. There's Mike's car, a 1975 BMW that remains a defiantly iPod-free zone. Mike has invested in a brand new cassette deck but has no cell phone — there will be no texting and definitely no "sexting" here. Instead, this movie features the rare sight of a character getting out of his car to use a public pay phone. What's most old-fashioned, of course, is the reliance on dialogue to drive what little plot there is. If you imagine that two guys driving round LA County promises pedal-to-the-metal scenes and frenetic action, think again.

As in Sideways and the more recent Easier with Practice, it's the wildly differing attitudes of the protagonists that create dramatic interest. In short, it helps if one guy is a loner and a misanthrope and the other more of a "glass half full" type. Mike, whose stock in trade is words, rarely says anything that isn't laced with several layers of sarcasm. Tobey, though he's obviously led a rather dissolute life, claims to be at a turning point now that he's joined the Scientologists. But as the brothers try to reconnect over their shared history, writer Bissonnette's message seems to be that it's Mike who needs to wake up to his failings.

The bulk of Passenger Side's 85-minute running time is taken up with the kind of bizarre incidents that you expect to see in road-trip comedies. Perhaps the critic who compared this with the work of Judd Apatow was referring to Mike's close encounter with a transsexual prostitute; a stop-off at an adult movie set; or the bleeding Mexican who's chopped off a couple of digits. Bissonnette stops short of giving these incidents the full gross-out treatment because there's a genuine humanity about his characters. Earlier in the film, the brothers bicker over the significance of "different strokes for different folks", but when Tobey criticises Mike for living in LA and not knowing any Spanish, his point is well made.

Although Passenger Side is smartly scripted and both leads convincingly inhabit their characters, it all feels a little aimless. The mystery element concerning Michael's fruitless phone calls to a (possible) girlfriend is kept largely in the background until the film's rather rushed conclusion. When we do finally get to meet Tobey's beloved Theresa, she only has one underwritten scene in which to explain her actions.

Matthew Bissonnette obviously laboured long and hard over honing his dialogue, choosing the locations and selecting music from the likes of Leonard Cohen, Wilco and Silver Jews. But the lack of structure in his story robs it of any real emotional impact and the non-stop sarcasm becomes a little wearing by the end. If Miles from Sideways were comparing this movie to a wine, I'm afraid it would be a Merlot rather than the much-prized Pinot Noir.

It's Michael Brown (Adam Scott)'s 37th birthday. He gets a call from his brother Tobey for a ride. He gives a ride but Tobey won't tell him the reason. Michael keeps hinting at his birthday but Tobey is obviously clueless. They go on a long meandering journey through L.A. encountering sketchy characters and weird situations. Tobey comes clean that he's searching for his drug-addicted girlfriend Theresa.

It's a lot of grumpy sarcastic indie banter. Adam Scott is usually good at it if he could have a comedian to bounce around the conversation. Joel Bissonnette is a perfectly good character actor but he provides no comedy. This has nothing truly funny. It's a lot of aimless complaining. It has a lot quirky without comedy. A transvestite jerking off in the car is sort of funny and Adam Scott tries his hardest. That's a small scene and it doesn't completely work anyways. It takes Michael a bit too long to challenge Tobey. This movie has lots of weird ideas but the comedy isn't there.

I picked Passenger Side as one of the 15 films i would watch during Cinequest this year as its the closest film festival to me, and they usually do a good job of picking both independent American films as well as noteworthy films of world cinema. Anyhow im glad they showed Bisonnette's "Passenger Ride". Although compared to Apatow, i think Bisonnette brings fresh comedy with a different style than Apatow. The writer/director does a good job setting up the mood using effective cinematography and a cool soundtrack. I liked the fact that they are basically driving across Los Angeles from one hot spot to another, the acting and writing linked up well as the director's brother was perfect for the role which seems to be somewhat biographical, and Adam Scott delivered one hell of a performance as the main character. The story is about Michael(Scott) giving his brother(Bisonette) rides around town to handle some things, the true reason kind of vague until later. Overall this was a film that was enjoyable, meaningful, and at times downright hilarious, hopefully it gets proper distribution.