Antiquities

source: Antiquities

The heart of this film is the writing. The cinematography is stunning. The film follows a romantic comedy formula but the characters make it an engaging experience.

This movie reminds me of a Garrison Keillor skit from the Prairie Home Companion radio show. Great twists in the dialogue, humorous witty story telling designed to engage viewers in an immersive trip to odd likable characters working through their lives. I laughed many times at the writers intentionally landed jokes mocking Hallmark movies and so many direct homages to the Carol Burnett Show along with the whole radio era story telling that never once apologized for being a movie on the 21st century. I got it from the very first scene where they were going with this film and they totally got it right! Excellent job at speaking to the thousands of writers, radio shows and decades of creative entertainment that preceded the film industry. I send hugs out for this entire effort well done, well portrayed, and expert cinematic story telling.

Walt Prior (Andrew J. West) returns to his home town after his father's death. He gets a job at the antiques store where his father used to work. It's filled with a cast of quirky southern characters including the beautiful Ellie (Ashley Greene). He goes see therapist Dr. Margot (Mary Steenburgen). At seven minutes in, Dolores flashes her * at Walt and it's obvious that this movie is filled with wacky southern characters... except for Walt. Even the parrot has to be wacky while Walt is one of the blandest character by comparison. It doesn't help that West has no big screen personality. The juxtaposition is tiresome although the arrogant Japanese cook and * are hilarious. The writing is funnier in some doses. In larger doses, the script is trying too hard. Also the plot needs a point. Walt needs a goal. Without one, the movie meanders. I guess Ellie becomes the goal. The car crash is the central point. The movie needs to start with the car crash. It needs to make that more central. Instead, this is basically a troupe of improvisers doing wacky things with a shocking unprepared reveal in the third act. This is missing the intro. Even crashing two cars in the intro would be so helpful in this movie.

Totally pretentious garbage. Anyone who gave this movie a 10 rating must be associated with the film. Unwatchable.

Overall, I rather enjoyed this film. The script has elements of a slice-of-life comedy balanced against some darker conflicts that emerge towards the end of the film. The brilliance of the film lies in its casting. Each actor embodied just enough of the small-town stereotype assigned to them, while avoiding becoming a caricature. Much of the credit for this goes to Daniel Campbell, who had the difficult task of shaping the actors into characters interesting enough to hold attention through what was ultimately an unevenly paced script. It's the subplots and the interactions between the characters that really highlight the comedic elements of Antiquities. First, there's Delores (played expertly by Michaela Watkins of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp fame), and Delaney, played by Michael Gladis from Mad Men, who similarly hands in several scene-stealing moments. Their cat-and-mouse interplay is sweet, with Delaney constantly sabotaging his chances with Delores by lying to compensate for his perceived shortcomings, particularly his physical appearance. One of the funnier moments has Delaney defending his choice to chug five Red Bulls at once by stating deadpan that if he drinks them all now, he won't have to worry about forgetting to drink them later. Delores similarly showcases her comedic chops, including the opening conversation with Walt where she divulges that she's going to get a breast augmentation, but only one of the breasts because it's smaller than the other. Delaney and Delores are clearly meant for each other, and their scenes are among the most poignant and touching in the movie. Then there's Jimmy Lee (Graham Gordy), who rents space in the store to set up an exhibit that is meant to be an opportunity to sell his antique merchandise. We learn quickly, however, that he can't bear to part with any of his priceless items, and sends customers to other stores to find the same things. Gordy sets up his character perfectly for a rather powerful moment near the end of the film with store manager, Dewey Rey. Dewey (played by Troy Hogan of Friday Night Lights and Free State of Jones fame), is downright hilarious in his role, but also shows his flexibility several times throughout the movie. He also takes every opportunity he can to remind long-time employee Blundale (Roger Scott) that he married his mom, and delights in frequently providing details of their sexual escapades. And finally, there are the scenes between Walt and his therapist, Dr. Margot. These are arguably the funniest in the film, but unfortunately don't get enough airtime. Mary Steenburgen's Dr. Margot hits all the right notes and shows nearly perfect comedic timing, no doubt a benefit of starring in such comedies as Elf and Back to the Future Part III. Ultimately, there are a plethora of great moments in this film that are loosely tied together by a script that couldn't seem to get itself going. The scenes at Walt's aunt and uncle's house are important, but sometimes seem thrown in for the sake of reminding us that there's a "twist" coming later. The chemistry between Walt and Ellie seems a little too forced, and the conversations on their dates always include Walt referencing a tragedy that occurred in Ellie's past. With no indication as to how much time passed since they first met, this feels like an unnecessarily aggressive effort to foreshadow one of the conflicts. In the end, we discover that the conflict was really Walt's own uncertainty about who he was, and who he wanted to become. But it took a while to get there. The directing and the individual performances by this extremely talented cast carry this film, however, and I think we can forgive the pacing issues. We can also appreciate the relatability of the characters and situations to our own lives. Much like Jimmy Lee's antique exhibits, these personalities and these interactions are priceless.

How many who have lost parents were able to connect to Walt and understand his desire to know more about his father? I know I did. The writing was brilliant, the props were spot on, and the scenery was beautiful. I smiled, laughed and was brought to tears at the end. Great movie!

Once you adapt to the slower pace the movie offers great laughs throughout.

This movie's comedy caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting it to be so funny.

What I liked the most about Antiquities was the subtle humor, nothing really hilarious but good enough to make me giggle more then once. It's all a bit quirky and the people are a bit strange. Every character adds something special to the story. A story that is quite simple but certainly effective as I never felt bored. It's all easy entertainment and that's perfect to me. The cast was well chosen to play all those strange characters, some were funnier than others, but in the end they all did a good job. I don't think alot of people will hate this movie, maybe those who have no sense of humor at all.