I’ve never seen a eulogy get a standing O before, have you? I’m not sure it sets the right tone. Imagine you’re a ghost witnessing your own wake … do want there to be a standing O? What exactly do you think that says? No matter. Chalk it up to something I’ve never seen before in a film I almost certainly have seen before, but going by a different (and perhaps more palatable) title.
The Halls need a do-over. After 19 years, their marriage is in bad need of an over-Hall. Art dealer Ron (Greg Kinnear) is having an affair if only to feel something. He, like many white people, has constructed an entire safe harbor life, where you never have to encounter anything you might find objectionable (aside from your spouse, that is). Upon learning of the cheating, Deborah Hall (Renée Zellweger) chooses making Ron her bitch instead of the counseling routine. Deborah’s turn-ons no longer include palatial estates and priceless art, but giving makeovers to the homeless. Time to step out of that bubble, Ron.
Deborah also dreams nightly about Djimon “the ‘D’ is silent” Hounsou, who then shows up at the mission where she volunteers. What were the odds? The aggressive, angry, and homeless Denver (Hounsou) spends his first five scenes wielding a baseball bat and swinging it at both stationary and moving targets. I swear the bat changes from scene to scene, which didn’t make any sense, but then I remembered that even the poorest of hitters will go through dozens of bats in any given season. I wonder if he corks.
You can see where this is going, yes? Suffice to say the payoff is not entirely without tears, nor it is paint-by-numbers. This is the kind of film naïve liberals masturbate to: “oh … oh … helping humanity … oh … oh … finding common ground … oh oh homeless with a heart of gold … Yes! Yes! Yes!!”
Forgive me, that was terribly uncalled for. And it’s not even that the naivete is misplaced or makes this film bad art necessarily. God forbid there exist unrealistic films in which people solve problems with kind deeds instead of automatic weapons. This film, however, seems the product of minds who like to imagine that an angry temper and a baseball bat is the worst an unstable person can deliver. Or perhaps it is the wishful thinking of the writer – there is an underlying need in the screenplay to take unsolvable problems off the table. The antiseptic feel anticipates a certain type of audience: one that doesn’t wish to view evil straight on, but maybe askance, perhaps off to the side somewhere. You know that ain’t me.
So yeah, I could have hated this film, but I didn’t. For all the Godsquadery involved, Some Kind of Wonderf, oops, Same Kind of Different as Me wasn’t anywhere near as preachy as I’d anticipated. Also, I really got behind Denver. I know this portrayal isn’t spot-on; he’s more an amalgam than a real person. After all, where does his temper go? Is the frustration and anger from Act I tied to a drug habit? And if it’s not tied to a drug habit, how does it simply melt away like a character in an animated Rankin/Bass Christmas special? That aside, the amalgam is moving. Some Kind of Different lives do indeed suck from th
e outset, and I appreciate the film that says, “You know, maybe, just maybe, you can try a little harder to understand them” without ramming it down my throat.
I don’t exactly know when Greg Kinnear joined the God squad, but he’s good for these roles by virtue of an expression constantly in search of redemption. It’s not quite guilt; it’s more like, “I’m kinda disappointed in myself.” That is a very accessible place to be as an actor. A lot of us mean well, but are still a bit disappointed with ourselves. He is slowly becoming the spokesman for the mildly rueful upper middle class.
While the quixotic title yields a fair amount of contemplation, it still has to be regarded as stupid. I’m not backing away from that one at all.
As to homelessness, Denver did cling
Enforced by his baseball batting
When the Halls came to play
Their message of sway
If not saved, maybe Denver can swing
Rated PG-13, 119 Minutes
Director: Michael Carney
Writer: Michael Carney & Alexander Foard and Ron Hall
Genre: Intro to homelessness
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Do-gooders not experienced enough to be jaded
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Alt-right
