As a fan of Sam Rockwell, I decided to check out Don Verdean. The fact that I hadn't heard of the film before seeing it on Rockwell's filmography and that it is considerably new had me thinking that I'd grant myself one and a half hour of suffering. And I was right.
The film follows Don Verdean (Sam Rockwell), a self-proclaimed Biblical Archaeologist that hunts down religious artefacts to prove that the stories from the Bible are true. When he is hired by a pastor, Lazarus (Danny McBride), to find sacred relics in order to bring more people to his church, Verdean is forced to get creative.
The plot is one of the major problems with Don Verdean. It is far from being interesting and engaging, it doesn't make a lot of sense, it has several uninteresting romantic subplots, and the ending, if you could call it that, is incredibly contrived. It seems like the writers knew they had to end the story but didn't know how and they just wrote something random that makes as much sense as everything else.
The characters too are the result of lazy writing. The film is filled with odd and bizarre characters but unfortunately, the writers didn't make the most of their potential. Their personalities never take over, they aren't as compelling as they should have been and. most importantly, they are not a bit funny.
Neither the cast can fix that as they all give pretty bland performances. Sam Rockwell looks bored from start to finish, hidden behind a beard and terrible clothes. The others are just as bland, Danny McBride and Will Forte being the most disappointing as they fail to make laugh consistently. There's a good chemistry between Rockwell and McBride but it feels like the director, Jared Hess, was not able to capture it.
As you probably guessed, Don Verdean is not that funny of a movie and calling it comedy should be a crime. The jokes, a blend of biblical and adolescent jokes, fall flat most of the film, and when they don't they barely make you chuckle.
Unless you really love one of the actors in, whether it's Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Bob, Will Forte or Danny McBride, my suggestion is that you stay the hell away from this film.
The plot is one of the major problems with Don Verdean. It is far from being interesting and engaging, it doesn't make a lot of sense, it has several uninteresting romantic subplots, and the ending, if you could call it that, is incredibly contrived. It seems like the writers knew they had to end the story but didn't know how and they just wrote something random that makes as much sense as everything else.
The characters too are the result of lazy writing. The film is filled with odd and bizarre characters but unfortunately, the writers didn't make the most of their potential. Their personalities never take over, they aren't as compelling as they should have been and. most importantly, they are not a bit funny.
Neither the cast can fix that as they all give pretty bland performances. Sam Rockwell looks bored from start to finish, hidden behind a beard and terrible clothes. The others are just as bland, Danny McBride and Will Forte being the most disappointing as they fail to make laugh consistently. There's a good chemistry between Rockwell and McBride but it feels like the director, Jared Hess, was not able to capture it.
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| Lionsgate Premiere |
Unless you really love one of the actors in, whether it's Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Bob, Will Forte or Danny McBride, my suggestion is that you stay the hell away from this film.
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