Don Verdean

Having lived in an area that has experienced religious artifact fraud that led to murders I have a special appreciation for this film. It was tactfully sarcastic, so gentle in the telling but got its point across. It would offend no one but you understand. Almost like the most beloved American writer would have handled it a hundred and thirty some years ago. Mark Twain didn't care too much for religion either.

This film is like a slow burning fuse. The first two thirds are mildly funny and if you saw it in a theater it would have caused you to make a few polite chuckles. But the last third, I was laughing so hard I was crying. Like a good joke, you have to set it up to make the punch line work.

I saw it by myself, but hours after I saw it I would remember parts of it and start laughing all over again. My wife kept asking, "What are you laughing about?"

Most of the negative reviews you see for "Don Verdean" are the same as the negative reviews for "Gentleman Broncos." It all boils down to one basic idea: "This movie isn't enough like other movies I like." Professional reviewers and users alike miss the boat on these movies because they want them to fit in a neat little package. You'll hear a lot about how they didn't feel the movie worked as a straight comedy, or straight drama, or that mixing biblical jokes with more adolescent jokes doesn't work. They are missing the point. This is not meant to be a single genre, or even really a mix of genres, instead it is an examination of characters, ideas, and themes.

Unlike many other movies, "Don Verdean" (and "Gentleman Broncos," for that matter) is not looking to work as a whole, indeed these movies reject the idea of balance and chemistry as proscribed by mainstream films. Instead, DV is about about the details. Each moment of the movie has been engineered, largely without a thought for the other moments. In the Hess world, if something is interesting that's reason enough to include it, regardless of how it fits together with other pieces.

It's not inherently worse than other films (in fact, you'll see tremendous talent in the film-making, the acting, and the script); it's just a completely different approach. So see "Don Verdean," not because it's more of what you already like (and have) but because it isn't.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is uniquely funny, and even totally hilarious when Jemaine Clement lavishes his Hebrew brogue on the viewer. The movie is a universe in itself, and not just the story of one man Donald Verdean, a preacher turned conman. The whole Mid-West or Bible Belt is caricatured in such a way that you can only smile at the fondness contained in the implied criticism. It is never mean. Jared Hess rules! I'd been a fan since NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. I relish the sight of his little tribe, starting with Rockwell and Clement, and the way those guys make you believe in second degree, totally unbelievable tales. Way to go!

In this movie Sam Rockwell plays the titular character Don Verdean who is an amateur archaeologist hunting down religious artifacts. When Don is asked to retrieve the skull of Goliath things spiral out of control.

Although the jokes did not always work that well the writers did a great job at implementing them in the movie as most of the dialogue based jokes came very naturally and never really felt out of place. The story itself is where the movie falls apart though. Characters almost never really act out of character and it really felt as if they were living in that world instead of on a comedy set. However it quickly becomes very clear that the story is artificially set up. In fact the events that happen in the end of the movie seems so out of place and sudden that it's clear the screenwriters didn't really know where to go and just needed an ending.

The one redeeming factor about the movie is the acting. Although I think their acting qualities were severely underutilized Sam Rockwell, Jemaine Clement and Amy Ryan really put down a believable performance. The chemistry between the actors/characters does seem to be there but the director does not seem to be able to capitalize on that.

I do think that the recipe behind 'Don Verdean' could have provided a pretty fun comedy movie. With a better director and a better story the movie could have been a pretty good comedy, sadly as of right now it is just a well acted flick paired with a very mediocre story with some good laughs here and there.

My rating: 4/10

I had to review this because I can't believe all the hate it's getting. It's not gonna win any awards but I can appreciate the mocking of many mindsets and it never takes itself to seriously. Well worth a watch.