Lonnie seems to continually feel sorry for himself. He works editing inane TV commercials, a job
he hates and in which he is barely tolerated by his colleagues, whilst his wife
Clover finishes law school. The couple
in their late 20’s want to live a laid back stoner So Cal life but they have a
got a 6-month-old daughter whom they are still adjusting their lives around, and
this all leaves precious little time for ‘chillaxin'. Let alone for Lonnie
to be making music with his old pot-smoking pal Tank who still lives in a trailer at
the beach.
One day Lonnie simply can't bring himself to go into
work at all, and using the baby as an excuse calls his irritated boss, and then skips
off and and has a day all to himself. The next morning he does the same thing
again but when pushed by the boss for a valid reason for his extended absence he
blurts out a big whopper of a lie. This buys him a few more days' freedom, as
well as outpourings of support from his hitherto distant co-workers, but it is
obvious that this big lie is sure to explode in his face when discovered.
This very unfunny comedic drama is too irritating and
implausible to be liked. Lonnie is a
self-indulgent whiner who wants it all without working for it. His idea of balancing the emotional and economic
demands of family life and staying true to one’s ordeals is just sitting around
getting stoned and making really bad music. And then when he is forced to fess
up to his inexcusable and despicable lie to his well-meaning and hard working
wife, she full of middle class angst, just simply forgives him!
I will confess to a personal hang-up to such blatant dishonesty,
which is a result of my strict Methodist upbringing and having a mother who was at
best ‘economical with the truth’. And
this is compounded by the whole basis of the one in this story, which should
never be the subject for any sort of fib!
Debut directing feature for actor Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project)
who also co-wrote it (from what I read was originally a well-written short story). and he starred in it as well. My advice
to Mr Leonard would be to stick to acting in the future (he was also in Vera Farmiga's
excellent 'Higher Ground'), and my advice to you if I have to be totally truthful
(and I do!) is skip this one. Maybe
smoke a joint yourself, it will be much more fun than Lonnie and Tank doing it.
★★★★
★★★★
