The Wendell Baker Story

Sometimes when a film is written, directed, produced, and starring the same person, it doesn't always go well. When wendell (luke wilson) gets out of prison, he goes to work at a retirement home. But an hour into the film, we find out one of the other employees is running a scam on the seniors. And he gets together a posse to put a stop to it. So many scenes just go on sooooooo long. And go from funny to serious in two seconds. Which is okay for a drama, but not for a comedy. The jokes are far and few between. It should have been so much funnier with will ferrell involved. This couldn't decide if it wanted to be a drama or a comedy. Kind of uneven. It's not awful, just okay. Co-stars eva mendes, and a whole slew of wilsons family members. Harry stanton and kris kristofferson. I think if the script had been jazzed up, it would have been a much (funnier) stronger film. And to be fair, it is wilson's first screenplay. There is some cool music in here!

Watched it last night for the first time. Although it wasn't "slapstick" humor, I still felt it was thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, it seemed almost like a breath of fresh air. Not as formulaic as a lot of other comedies out there, thank goodness. I especially enjoyed Luke's character of Wendell Baker. He comes across as being forever boyish until he does experience loss in his life. Harry Stanton and Seymour Cassel really do bring a unique air to the film, being septuagenarians with a fervid love of life. Kristofferson's character I felt could have used a bit more development, but is overall well acted nonetheless.

The soundtrack to this movie really helped a lot. If it had to be called a flavor, I'd call it "Texas BarBQ"...flavorful, colorful and spicy. Very unique.

In short, this would be the kind of movie you could watch with your family and not be embarrassed.

The Wendell Baker Story will never be listed as movie classic. It will not score at acting awards, and it does have a profound message. That said, it manages to entertain, make us laugh and smile, and provide through enjoyment without insulting our intelligence, and without resorting to endless car chases, fire crashes, or silly special effects.

What we have here is old-fashioned movie entertainment – solid acting, an engaging story, and all of the basics done solidly: costuming, direction, lighting, editing, and, especially, music.

Both Luke and Owen Wilson are more than competent in their respective roles as a light-weight con man and a conspiring old home administrator/head nurse. Indeed, I saw a little more acting talent here than in Owen Wilson's other recent attempts, such as Behind Enemy Lines.

While Owen and Luke's name may be at the head of the credits (along with their brother Andrew, who is the film's Director), the best performances come from Harry Dean Stanton and Seymour Cassell, who play playful, but sincere and believable residents of the old age home where Luke Wilson's character works, and which Owen Wilson's character runs. Alas, the same cannot be said for the legend Kris Kristofferson, whose roll comes off as predictable and trite, with the same artificial "I am wise and serene" facial expression done far too many times.

The story is easy enough. Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) spends his time scheming his next (read first) fortune, planning all kinds of shady and illegal schemes. Baker and his friend (played by Jacob Vargas) get caught providing fake Texas identifications to illegal immigrant farm workers. He ends up in a federal jail in Texas, where he gets along well and does not seem to miss his girlfriend, played by Eva Mendes.

Baker is eventually paroled, and ordered to work at a "retirement hotel." While little happens at the retirement place, Baker does not learn of an ongoing to scheme to ship seniors to Oklahoma, so that the administrators can collect their pension checks and sell their medicines on the black market. OK, so it is not Shakespeare. It is light, it moves at a good pace, and Wendell becomes more and more liked by the audience.

If one looks, there are messages to be had. We are reminded that senior citizens have passions and sex drives, that the people pouring across the border from Mexico largely just want to work and get by, and that all of us deserve a second chance. Bets of all, we learn this by being happily entertained by a fun, easy-going movie.

As played by Luke Wilson, Wendell Baker is the kind of character authors like to refer to as a "lovable rogue" - a smooth-talking scam artist with a tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe (to borrow a phrase from scripture, if I may be so bold). The trouble is that a good-hearted guy can run afoul of the law for only so long before he risks losing the woman he loves (Eva Mendes) and before he is finally forced into taking a long, hard look at his life. Thus, once he's paroled from prison, Wendell decides to go straight by taking a job at a retirement home (he's been duped into believing that this is a first step on the road to a career in hotel management) run by a sadistic administrator (Owen Wilson) and his toadying staff. There's a little of the feel of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," as the con man leads the put-upon inmates of the "asylum" in a well-coordinated rebellion against their oppressors.

The chief attraction of "The Wendell Baker Story" is the opportunity it affords us of seeing the Wilson brothers appearing together in the same movie - and what a treat it turns out to be. Luke has written a script filled with the kind of dry, wry wit that has been the hallmark of both of their performances over the years, and their scenes together crackle with understated cynicism and humor (Luke co-directed the feature with yet another brother, Andrew, making this a family affair in the fullest sense of the term). The movie is also blessed with an amazing team of supporting players, including Harry Dean Stanton and Seymour Cassel as spry oldsters who find a supportive helpmate in Wendell Baker; Kris Kristofferson as a mysterious, stoic resident who is harboring a carefully guarded secret about his past; Will Ferrell as the grocery store owner who is Wendell's chief rival for his now ex-girlfriend's affections; and Eddie Griffin who serves as chief henchman for the home's scalawag of a director.

Their performances and the laidback tone of the humor compensate for the occasional dry spots and the fact that the movie itself doesn't really add up to all that much when all is said and done.

I just saw The Wendell Baker Story at what is its third screening, at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville.

Although, as stated in the prior comment, this movie will be no cult nor mainstream classic, it is highly entertaining. For a comedy, it is considerably light: the humor is mostly situational.

I personally found Wendell Baker's greatest success in the developing of the secondary characters as foils. The movie does not have opening credits, instead only introducing the title. As such, I was pleasantly surprised to see many high profile actors in roles fitting well within the film. In the post-screening interview, Luke Wilson discussed how this choice for no opening credits was as an "album cover" and that, with the focus directly on the introduction of an Austin Texas feel.

The acting in the film is generally good. Highlights for me were the performances of Grant James and Kris Kristofferson. I was, unfortunately, disappointed in Eva Mendes' delivery of her character. I feel the 'girlfriend who 'the guy' loses' cliché could have been as fresh as the other foil supporting characters.

The film has many beautiful shots on location in Texas, although the editing at times is choppy (granted the film is still not finished). The music is absolutely wonderful: the folky rock feel contributing in subtle persistence to the southwestern feel of the film.

I enjoyed this film. It was not profound... do not go to this movie to see another Royal Tenenbaums. The film is a comedy, but it is neither dark nor slapstick. It very much reminds me of Sideways in that both take advantage of a specific local color create a more personal and more relaxed movie. As such, while not often was I laughing, the ever-present humor kept me entertained.