B.J. Novak's 'Vengeance' Is An All-Around Win
Starring Isabella Amara, Dove Cameron, Ryan Hammond, Ashton Kutcher, B.J. Novak, Issa Rae
Rated R
Comedy, thriller
Run time: 1 hr, 34 min
Directed and written by B.J. Novak
In theaters July 29, 2022
One of my biggest complaints about a lot of the movies I see lately is that the writing fails it more often than not. There is patchy dialogue that is so predictable, I can finish the sentences before the characters do. There are plot holes for days. There are questionable choices. I had high hopes for Vengeance since it’s a writer’s movie - a film written by, directed by and starring B.J. Novak. Through the “Office Ladies” podcast and the behind-the-scenes insight it provides, I’ve developed more appreciation for Novak as a writer, and the level of importance he puts on a script. It was no surprise that he didn’t let me down. A mediocre screenplay can doom a movie, but Vengeance is evidence that a great one can make all the difference. Despite being involved in every aspect of this production, it doesn’t feel like Novak patting himself on the back for his own genius, or give off the vibes that this is nothing more than a vanity project. It’s creative, it’s hilarious and it’s unpredictable.
Novak plays Ben, a writer and a wannabe podcaster living in New York, who gets a call telling him that his girlfriend (who was really just a girl he hooked up with for a while), Abilene (Lio Tipton) has died. He is guilted into attending the funeral by Abilene’s brother, Ty (Boyd Holbrook), and when he arrives in this small Texas town, Ben learns that not only does her family believe that he was far more involved with Abilene than he was, but also that there could be a nefarious aspect to her death. Ben decides to take this as an opportunity, and he decides to follow any threads, recording material for a podcast as he goes, sending clips to his editor/producer, Eloise (Issa Rae). This journey takes him through Abilene’s memories and remnants of her life, from conversations with her siblings and parents to a studio run by Quentin Sellers (Kutcher) where she recorded her music.
There were so many ways Vengeance could become cliche. There are even more ways it could have become self-important and holier-than-thou when making commentary on today’s culture. It hops, skips and jumps through serious issues - gun ownership, the opioid epidemic, true crime media and the way the country handles all of these hot-button topics. Novak deftly moves his way among all of them, combining too-true sentiments with intelligent humor. It starts out strong from the very beginning, with a scene I’d rather not spoil due to the sheer joy it brought me, but I’ll just say I did not expect to laugh for as long as I did at the opening of this film. There isn’t a single weak link in the cast. I was wary at Ashton Kutcher’s appearance at first, where he looks like a caricature of how a lot of Americans believe a standard, everyday Texan may appear. Within three minutes of him being on screen, he removed all of that apprehension. Everyone is clearly having a great time with this movie and are bringing their A game. Dove Cameron is a delight as Abilene’s younger sister who just wants to be famous, and I can’t say enough praise for all the supporting actors, especially Issa Rae, who is cast perfectly as Ben’s podcast “boss.”
Any moment I thought I could predict this movie, I was wrong. It didn’t try to be the new Gone Girl where you think you know the mystery but oh-ho-ho you didn’t know THIS PART. The turns of the narrative feel earned and have plenty building up to it to make it all track easily. I don’t think there was a single moment where I was furrowing my brow and trying to remember how a certain plot point was reached. Novak plays to each of his actor’s strengths, doling out the perfect combination of comedy, suspense and drama. It walked the fine line of being comfortingly familiar and fully unpredictable. Any cliche or “standard” moment was warranted, and often didn’t end in the way you expect. My only complaint is that this movie seems to be a limited release, like a lot of my other favorites that have come out this year, and I wish more people would get to see it.