Dark Horse

"Sweetie, we've written you off as a failure years ago." Abe (Gelber) is a toy collector and a slacker. In his 30's and still living at home with his parents and working for his father (Walken) he is not always happy. He meets Miranda (Blair) at a party and instantly falls in love. He asks her out once then proposes marriage. When a series of events begins Abe's life takes a strange turn. Having never seen a movie by Solondz before I was expecting this to be a comedy. I couldn't have been more wrong. The movie is OK but it's pretty depressing and Gelber does a really good job in this you really feel for his character. Selma Blair also does a pretty good job and they was she plays you are as confused about her as Abe is, which is probably the point. The acting really drives and helps the movie but to me the movie is just to slow moving to make it a high recommend. If you like Solondz movies then you will like this I'm guessing. To me it was OK but hard to get into. Overall, not bad but slow moving and I did get bored a little, up until the end. Which I was not expecting. I give it a C+.

Greetings again from the darkness. Todd Solondz is the master of film uncomfortableness. If you have seen his "Happiness", you won't debate whether that's a real word or not. Mr. Solondz has a way of finding the worst in his characters and then taking it even darker and more negative. And yet, somehow, his latest (and maybe his simplest film to date) could be called a comedy.

We are first introduced to Abe (Jordan Gelber) and Miranda (Selma Blair) as they share a table at a wedding, yet somehow aren't remotely together. He is oblivious to her near silent attempts to nicely avoid providing her phone number to him. The film moves quickly to provide proof that Abe is the epitome of arrested development. A mid-thirties something who not only "works" for his dad, but still lives with his parents (Mia Farrow, Christopher Walken)in a bedroom decorated with action figures. It's difficult to look at someone who takes up as much space as Abe and categorize them as a kid, so I believe the better term is "not an adult". He stalks Miranda and doesn't seem to mind/notice that she is a heavily medicated depressed individual who looks at him like he's a circus act.

Abe's work environment is no better than his personal life. He brings nothing of value to his dad's company, yet somehow thinks he is always being mistreated. This carries over to his feelings toward his brother Richard (Justin Bartha), who is a doctor. Abe, who dropped out of college, believes the only difference is that Richard was the favorite son and received special privileges. It's very easy to label Abe a "loser", but somehow Solondz manages to maintain our interest with small sparks of hope.

The hope quickly fades and Abe's life heads on a fast downward spiral. There are some bizarre fantasy/dream sequences that involve the quiet, much older co-worker Marie (Donna Murphy), and a conversation in the car with his mother and brother that plays like something directly out of a Woody Allen movie (made even creepier with the presence of Mia Farrow).

There are some funny moments, but as Mr. Solondz would prefer, the laughs are tainted with guilt. We can't help but wonder why we laugh at a guy for whom we have such little respect ... actually bordering on disgust. I must admit to being pretty tired of Abe by the end of the movie, and couldn't help wondering if it might have been more effective as a short film. Still, the acting was superb, and unfortunately Abe isn't that much of a stretch from someone you probably know in real life. (www.moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com)

Director Todd Solondz returns to the land of melancholy with "Dark Horse," his latest serio-comic look at some of life's semi-lovable losers. I say "semi-lovable" because Solondz's characters often contain a dark streak of 'nasty' inside them, and this nastiness often manifests itself in disturbing ways.

Such is the case with Abe (Jordan Gelber,) a thirty-something man-child still living in the action-figure-adorned bedroom of his parents' home. Abe, who passes most days at his father's office avoiding work while trolling eBay for collectibles, finds himself at a wedding seated next to Miranda, an equally socially-awkward and very possibly damaged woman (Selma Blair.) After one date, Abe proposes to Miranda. Her rationale for accepting his proposal is the funniest and most depressing scene in the film. You find yourself laughing, and then quickly wondering how many people end up getting married for EXACTLY the same reasons as Miranda, without readily admitting it.

Abe's troubles mount as he finds himself having to deal with the ramifications of his rash decision. His parents (the marvelously restrained Christopher Walken and the equally marvelously restrained Mia Farrow) may be the original source of his troubles. His father constantly compares him to his more successful brother. His mother just wants him to accept his perennial-loser status, but she does it in the most kind and loving way.

None of this excuses Abe's selfishness and irrational sense of entitlement. Abe's doubts about his actions take the form of imaginary meetings and conversations with the people frustrating him in his life. (The narrative does get a bit muddled here.) His self-centeredness has devastating consequences, for others, but ultimately for himself. This 'dark horse' is not going to surprise us with a win.

Solondz leads this "Horse" well, but he can't make it drink. He doesn't disappoint, but he doesn't really surprise us either. The performances are uniformly fine. Gelber in particular does a good job of walking the tightrope of character between genuinely unpleasant and sadly unaware. Blair gets credit for playing Miranda as something other than a carbon copy or even a reverse negative image of Abe. Miranda is sadly aware of the pathetic nature of her life, and her bluntness in dealing with it is refreshing.

"Dark Horse" won't have you rolling in the aisles. You'll smile some, chuckle once or twice, and wince a lot. Standard Solondz, but that's better than most.

www.worstshowontheweb.com

"You should just face the truth." (Abe) "What is the truth?" (Mom) "That we're all terrible people!"

I like quirky with the best of them, but Dark Horse is not at all as entertaining as director Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse and too depressing to promise a dedicated audience of nerds who usually require at least entertaining fare.

This story of an overweight loser, Abe Jordan Gelber (in schlubby Kevin James mode), is so negative that identifying with him is a difficult task for any audience member. Upon meeting another family "dark horse," Abe asks Miranda (Selma Blair) to marry him, as uncool und untimely a request as could be possible.

Yet, these two are soul mates, awkward outsiders with enough hang-ups to people a whole other dysfunctional drama: He collects Simpson's memorabilia and she sports hepatitis b. I just can't find anything else interesting.

Abe works for dad (Christopher Walken), is counseled for real or in dream by loving mom (Mia Farrow), and tries to tolerate his achieving brother (Justin Bartha). Solondz's direction allows intimate involvement with the two dark horses and their families, so there can be no doubt that the expected fates will be unusual to say the least.

Slow and dull, like Abe himself, the film skirts the bold satire characteristic of Solondz's previous work (he even blurs out the Toys 'R Us sign on the store, not once but twice). In the end, you have a portrait of a loser who really doesn't deserve the attention even 86 min gives him. I doubt this small film will be even a dark horse in any competition.

I get it Todd. Real life is depressing. Abe is a product of American capitalism. He has rich parents, a bad diet, uses pop-culture catch-phrases and assumes an unearned sense of entitlement. It's pretty clear that there's no "Tommy Boy" redemption coming here, but anyone expecting a black humor comedy in it's place will be left wanting. There is little to root for in any of the characters and despite some great, very dry, performances "Dark Horse" is at heart about realism. Jobs are mundane, people are medicated, have awkward conversations and drive to mega malls. As document of the times, "Dark Horse" may be relevant, those seeking a 2 hr escape from reality will feel worse afterwards. Unless you drive a Hummer.