“No one is laughing.”
One can only ride on the charm of Jason Schwartzman’s prickly asshole persona for so long, if 7 Chinese Brothers — the latest Austin, TX-centered indie from Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me) — is proof of anything. Though few can live up to the imposing standards of the snarky, smarmy self-entitled scumbag as well as he can, even he looks exasperated by what little he’s given to do with his self-medicating, heavy-drinking, job-hopping schmuck. He makes the most of it, as always, and knows how to sell an insult or a cheap gag with his impeccably sharp-as-a-machete timing. But Byington’s film feels a little too careless in its approach. At a mere 75 minutes, it’s barely a full feature and its low story mileage doesn’t help sell its case. Riding by on half-hearted clichés from coming-into-adulthood-in-your-30s/40s slacker dramedies of the mid-to-late ’90s, all while never caring to add anything or try something interesting with the tired sub-genre, this slacker movie is a little too caught up in the character’s slumming ambitions to progress forward.
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Larry (Schwartzman) lives his days slipping tequila he stole from work into his mini-mart soda and buying prescription medicine under the table from one of his best friends, war-veteran-turned-doctor and fellow pill-popper Major Norwood (Tunde Adebimpe). That is, when he’s not occasionally visiting his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) — his only living relative — at her nursing home or spending quality time speaking French, Spanish or random asides to his best companion, his French bulldog Arrow (Schwartzman’s real-life pooch of the same name). His lazy, unfazed aspirations and poor behavior eventually get the better of him when his booze-sneaking is caught by his higher-ups and is promptly fired, but an impromptu visit to Quick Lube to get his oil changed after he’s canned turns into an equally sporadic attempt to find labor at his local car repair shop.
Well, it’s not quite as random as it would seem. There is one major influence in his current affairs: Lupe (Eleanore Pienta), an attractive young woman who operates the place and whom Larry soon fancies. Despite his poor habit of cracking bad jokes and mucking around whenever he can, she’s nevertheless quick to hire her one-time customer. His better-than-normal work ethic soon pleases her rash decision-making, though, but it doesn’t win him a friend in her ex-husband Jimmy (Jimmy Gonzales), a fellow Quick Lube employee known to make the room tense when he’s inside. This menacing figure is just one person harassing Larry at-the-moment, however, as a co-employee at his previous work-space, Don (Jonathan Togo), is seeking revenge on our lead soon after he keyed his car in a fit of rage on his last day.
Through this all, Larry is meant to learn about perseverance, owning up to his failures and personal rehabilitation, but his emotional journey never feels completely earned. Although the movie becomes more likable when it slows down from simply letting Larry dick around every moment he’s on-screen — coming on the verge of finding itself like Schwartzman’s character is figuring himself out — the narrative is completely hobbled by the rushed central emotional arc. It denigrates the character development solely to the last 20-or-30 minutes, and becomes too hastily produced to resonate in its blanketed intentions. It trends on familiar narrative beats needed to fit itself into the mold, rather than genuinely or organically living them out in the story. It’s a checklist rather than a complete journey, and this sabotages the good graces Byington nearly earns with his sixth movie.
Larry appears more like a watered-down variation of the actor’s better performances, particularly as the titular protagonist in last year’s Listen Up Philip. As Schwartzman commits himself wholeheartedly, as per usual, though, he is totally comfy and content in the primary role. He never half-asses the half-assery of his character; he plays Larry for all he’s worth, even if he’s not necessarily rewarded by spending his time participating in one-way conversations with his dog or trying assorted accents for those around him. He’s less an nonredeemable prick than a prick without much to redeem. It’s a character designed, seemingly, to coast by on the actor’s unusual charisma and, though it’s not entirely unsuccessful, it’s a little too under-cooked in its preparation.
Still, 7 Chinese Brothers isn’t devoid of value. It’s rather amusing when it wants to be, particularly in the little moments. Schwartzman’s quiet asides are always more satisfying than any of his built-up punchlines, and he’s backed strongly by his talented supporting cast — namely Adebimpe, Dukakis and Stephen Root, who makes a brief-but-great appearance in the third act as George, the attorney for Dukakis’ character. Its intentions are mild but sincere, as it always aims to please and doesn’t necessarily fail in some of its low-guarded moments. If only it pushed itself, just like Schwartzman’s character, just a smidge more to make something of higher value. At the moment, it’s in a conundrum of sorts. It’s too minuscule in its scope to write-off, yet too filled with talented to ignore completely. Its frustrations come not only from its mediocrity but it also its failure to want to be anything more. You hope it comes together, spitting out less remiss jokes and getting itself in full motion. Unlike Larry, though, Byington never even tries to fix his mistakes.
5/10
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