Don McKay

With dark comedies, the ratio of comedy to darkness is what gives a film its identity. Many modern filmmakers put an emphasis on darkness and disturbing situations like Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") and the Coen Brothers ("Fargo"), whereas others hail from the old school approach of keeping violence to a minimum and instead drawing humor from the bizarre ways the characters act around it, such as in "Arsenic & Old Lace" (1944) or "Deathtrap" (1982).

Here in "Don McKay" we fall squarely into the old school style. There is 1 death early in the film, and the rest of the film is about the mysterious and absurd criss-crossings of schemes from each character whose intentions we don't know until the end. Apologies to Tarantino & the Coens (whose films I really like), but I prefer this sort of approach because, although it may sacrifice thrills & action, it's ultimately a style that you can enjoy on a deeper psychological level.

Don McKay (Thomas Hayden Church whom I'll always remember as the lovably slow mechanic in the 80s sitcom "Wings") is a lonely man whose entire life consists of cleaning the floors at a Boston high school. One day he receives a mysterious letter that prompts him to drop everything and hop a bus to his hometown which, by the gorgeous scenery, looks like the Pacific northwest but they're not specific. Once there, he gets wrapped up in murder, mayhem and memories. And although this is not a whodunnit, it becomes a fun mystery as we try to figure out who each character is, including our hero Don McKay, a man of very few words.

Thomas Hayden Church is brilliantly cast in the lead role, almost reprising his humorously awkward role in Wings but with a deep, observant intelligence that gives the film depth. As we piece together the bizarre characters & circumstances surrounding the death, we are also hard at work trying to figure out what makes Don McKay tick and why he is apparently running from something. Thus, there are 2 stories unfolding at the same time, and the brilliant (and hilarious!) climactic scene pulls it all together in a way that's tense, funny, enlightening and unmistakably human.

And let me dwell on that word for a minute: human. Although we are given no backstory to any of these oddball characters, each one comes across as very human. There are no wooden performances here, unless you count Thomas' deliberately wooden, stoic characterization of Don McKay. Elizabeth Shue absolutely blows this out of the park, playing a complex yet in many ways childlike character whom I can only compare to Vivien Leigh's famous performance in "Streetcar Named Desire". Melissa Leo plays a creepy, uptight nurse who is reminiscent of the demon child's nanny in "The Omen" haha. By the way, observe how her character's clothes & appearance become more frazzled & frenetic in each scene. Keith David, in one of the greatest comic-relief roles since the porter in Shakespeare's Macbeth, plays Don McKay's neurotic childhood friend, the perfect counterbalance to Thomas Hayden Church's emotionless enigma. And there are 2 fantastic bit roles (1) the cab driver played by Emmet Walsh who's been in everything from Blood Simple to Bladerunner; and (2) Pruitt Taylor Vince as "Mel" the dorky crook who looks like he would be more comfortable working at Best Buy than being part of any sort of murder story.

I also give major old school points to the director for pulling off some hilarious sight gags. Not corny slapstick but funny visual compositions that had me LOLing (for example when Thomas & Melissa are in a car together, each totally distrusting the other, alternately stealing intense looks without the other person noticing). The final climactic scene with its brilliantly comedic script also had me LOLing, especially "So why don't you just drop the... AXE??" (as if to point out the hilarious note: who keeps an axe in their living room?).

If you enjoy subtle situational humor, as in other indie gems like "Buffalo 66", "Grand Theft Parsons" or "The Maiden Heist" (sorry I can't think of any popular films to compare this to, except maybe "Punch Drunk Love"), then don't miss "Don McKay".

This movie had some wonderful comedy scenes. A dark comedy. I really had a great laugh.

The story line was okay and the acting of the main lead was just well controlled and done. The main hero is a great actor. His controlled dialogue delivery with a straight face was extraordinary and the situational comedy.

I would recommend people to watch it.

I loved the movie for sheer laughs.

I give it a 7.

Go and watch it.

I went to see "Don McKay" with some friends last night; it wasn't really on my movie radar because there hasn't been a big ad campaign, but it was thoroughly entertaining! I didn't really know what to expect; it appeared to be a thriller and although I would categorize it as that, I was surprised at how funny it was.

Seriously, the whole audience seemed to be caught up in the plot - the pace and the twists and turns leave you a little breathless at times, but belly-laughing as well. I'm actually considering seeing it again since it's one of those movies that you might want to re-watch and "look for clues."

Thomas Haden Church is perfect as Don the lonely janitor leading a solitary mundane life, pining for his lost love. He has an expressive face that is compelling as he is in turns beguiled, curious, confused, frustrated, and desperate.

Elisabeth Shue as Sunny is a complete wackadoo, I don't know how else to put it… she is manipulative to the extreme and it's entertaining to see her in action, turning on the charm and wrapping Don around her finger. She takes full advantage of Don's vulnerability; it seems at times Don is vaguely aware of being played, but is enjoying the attention of this sexy creature so much that he willingly goes along for the ride.

Melissa Leo appears as Sunny's uptight and prim caregiver. If you've seen her in other films, just the sight gag of her character is amusing enough, but I daresay that she delivers some of the best lines in the film.

There are several character actors whom I recognized as "that guy! I love him - he was so great in…" who fill out the cast. They may not be household names, but you've seen them countless times before. I especially liked Keith David as Otis but they all delivered solid performances.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of double-crossing going on. Although the viewer may be wondering what the hell is going on in the middle, everything becomes clear by the final act.

I thought the movie "Don McKay" was something entirely different than it actually was. Maybe because I had just briefly glanced over the description on the back, so I had formed a wrong impression.

Well, this movie was somewhat of a rather slow, painful process to get through. The start of the movie was promising, introducing the character in a nice way and slowly building up to something promising. And as the viewer you knew something was amiss. Then the movie suddenly started to get confusing. I am sure the makers of the movie thought their story was a good and exciting one, but the end product turned out as a confusing mess.

Throughout the movie, you sit there and gawk at the half-hearted acting performances and the dull dialogues. You never really buy into believing in what is portrayed on the screen, as the whole picture just doesn't work together in any way. However, I have to say one thing, Thomas Haden Church did a wonderful performance of portraying the gray and boring character of Don McKay. I thought he worked quite well in this role.

The characters in the movie were well enough fleshed out. Very nice and screwed up characters, that had potential, but failed to shine through because of the acting was below mediocre.

The one good thing about the movie, was when Don revealed the ultimate truth towards the ending. Now that was a nice surprising twist to an otherwise confusing and halting story. I liked that part, it worked quite well. The rest of the movie, well not so much.

I had thought this to be somewhat more of a thriller, but ended up with a lukewarm story that took forever to be told. Definitely not a movie I recommend that you pick up, unless you are bored, fanatically fan of any of the actors/actresses, or if you just have nothing better to do. There are lots of other movies out there with far more entertainment value.

Thomas Haden Church stars as the soft-spoken and slow-moving (but not necessarily slow-witted) titular character in this surprisingly entertaining black comedy.

Why do I say surprising? Oh, because it faded quickly into oblivion and has such a low score here at IMDb. And I admit that I at first had trouble getting into the film's weird (and I don't think always intentionally so) rhythm. Like a lot of black comedies, it takes time to establish its tone and cue you in on what you should and shouldn't be finding funny. Unfortunately, Church isn't up to the task of being our confident guide. His attempts to play Don McKay, a janitor who's summoned back to his hometown by a dying ex-girlfriend, as a shuffling and seemingly dim bulb come across instead as stiff and baffled. But the film is saved by playful performances by Elisabeth Shue, as this sordid crime film's femme fatale, and especially Melissa Leo, as a suspicious nurse who channels Judith Anderson from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca." It's up to these two, who are clearly having a ball with their roles, to get the film and us firmly into the black comedy spirit, and once they do so, the film plays as a quirky and entertaining bit of fun.

Grade: B