(2010)4Perry SeibertPart of the fun of Drake Doremus' independent comedy Douchebag is that it takes a while before it becomes abundantly obvious just who the title character in the story is. In most movies about two guys on a road trip, within a minute you can tell who the good guy is and who's, well, the douchebag, but Doremus allows us get to know his principals before the full extent of their flaws and idiosyncrasies becomes apparent. It's the damage shared by the two protagonists, as well as the subtle ways in which it reveals itself, that makes this film absorbing and slyly funny, and Douchebag is one of the freshest and most engaging character studies to come down the pike this year.
As Douchebag opens, Sam Nussbaum (Andrew Dickler) is snuggling in bed with his bride-to-be, Steph (Marguerite Moreau), while they discuss their future together. Steph sweetly asks Sam why his brother isn't coming to the wedding, which is taking place in a week. After some gentle goading, Sam calls his younger brother, Tom (Ben York Jones), and invites him to the festivities; Tom weasels out of the request, and that would seem to be the end of that. However, Steph thinks it's important for family to be together for an occasion like a wedding, so she drives out of town to Tom's place and offers to give him a lift to their home for the big event. Tom pretends to call his boss at the job he doesn't have and asks for some time off before taking Steph up on the offer.
It's uncomfortably clear when Steph comes home that Sam wasn't expecting to see Tom, and isn't very excited about having him there, while Tom doesn't feel any more comfortable. Sam works as a gardener, has a modest but comfortable home, and clearly loves Steph, who just as obviously loves him. Tom, on the other hand, is a slacker struggling to make good as an artist, has his rent paid for by his folks, and hasn't had a steady girlfriend in years. Over dinner, Tom confesses that the only girl he believes he truly loved was Mary Barger, who stole his heart when they were in fifth grade together. Sam proposes that they track down Mary Barger so Tom can invite her to the wedding; Tom is wary, but goes along with the idea, and after some web searches, they discover there are three Mary Bargers living in California. Sam maps out a road trip in hopes of finding Tom's long-lost love, but after a while in the car, all of Sam's worst qualities rise to the surface -- his arrogance, his bullying, his dishonesty, his constant flirting with other women, and the obvious fact that he's less interested in finding Mary Barger than avoiding a wedding he doesn't want, even if he does love Steph. Sam and Tom also spend a lot of time ignoring one subject that's obviously fresh in their minds -- the rivalry that turned the brothers against one another years ago.
Douchebag spends nearly all of its running time focusing on two characters -- one who's insufferable and another who's a cipher -- but director and co-screenwriter Doremus manages to mine a surprising amount of laughs from the interaction between Sam and Tom, and he's fortunate enough to have two actors with the skill to bring these characters to life. Andrew Dickler, a film editor who's never acted professionally before, is a true find as the alternately charming and infuriating Sam, and he gives the character a wiry comic intensity that lurks below the surface of his passive-aggressive neo-hippie nature, and Sam's fierce, self-righteous vegetarianism is strident and funny enough that PETA might feel compelled to picket the film on general principle. Dickler's work is so strong that most actors would follow the instinct to turn up their energy to stay on an even keel, but Ben York Jones' sweetly awkward turn as Tom is the perfect ego to Sam's id, and his low-key but carefully detailed performance works beautifully -- the give and take between Dickler and Jones has the feel of a real sibling relationship. Marguerite Moreau is thoroughly charming as Steph, and gives what's ultimately a minor character significantly more gravity than one might expect, and Nicole Vicius is funny, alluring, and memorable as one of the Mary Bargers the brothers meet along the way. The cinematography by Scott Uhlfelder and Chris Robertson captures the towns that dot the California highways with a naturalism that's beautiful without stripping the scenery of its rough textures, and the film's rhythms keep the narrative moving forward without feeling forced or lackadaisical.
Douchebag is simple and low-key enough that it's something of a surprise that the film becomes so emotionally involving in its last act, and if the final details seem to tie up the story more neatly than seems appropriate, the ending also fits the narrative thread that we never know quite as much about these characters as we imagine we do. Doremus and his cast also give Sam and Tom enough life that watching them try to make sense of one another is fascinating and genuinely funny, which isn't usually the case with a movie about a damaged family relationship.
