Allenesque try holds promise
The latest (that I’ve seen, anyway) in the long tradition of Woody Allen movie knockoffs is Demetri Martin’s “Dean,” a slightly better-than middling comedy-drama that never quite rises to “good.” There are decent Allenesque situations and humor, but they are undermined by some flat jokes, a running gag that goes on too long and a tearjerker strain toward the end.
Martin is a multi-threat (stand-up comic, actor, artist, writer, musician, etc.) performer and onetime law student who sports a Beatles haircut and had his own show on Comedy Central. His act often uses the simple, droll cartoons he draws — hipsterish with tinges of the New Yorker — which also feature prominently in this movie.
“Dean” is the name of Martin’s character, a young Brooklynite struggling to complete a sequel to a popular book of cartoons he drew. A main thread is his relationship with his father, played by Kevin Kline, who is still struggling to cope with the death of his wife, Dean’s mom.
However, the main thread — remember, the film is saturated with Woody — is his relationships with women. We see him relate to an ex-girlfriend in his deadpan and downbeat way, but it’s merely a setup for his Allen-style venture to Los Angeles where he’s been invited by some Millennial, techie knuckleheads to come and work. Cue the Californiais-vacuous jokes.
An old friend offers to show him around, and Dean is less than ecstatic about what (and whom) he sees, until he meets Nicky (Gillian Jacobs), to whom he comes off as a nebbish. Still, he’s intrigued enough to put off his return to New York, where his dad has put the family home up for sale (after trying and failing to get his son to discuss the issue), and has taken a romantic interest in his real estate agent (Mary Steenburgen).
The comic mood dominates most of these proceedings, but there’s also a bittersweet air as both son and father come to realize they are still fully in mourning. The movie becomes less palatable, though, as some sentimental notes fit poorly with Martin’s often mordant humor.
It’s easy to see Martin’s appeal, as he uses his poker face to disarm both the other characters and the audience. And some of his drawings (we see quite a few) are pretty good. But there’s a running gag which I won’t spoil that goes on and on and on. This is a danger when a movie’s writer-director is also its cartoonist.
Kline is good in a role that suits him perfectly, and his scenes with Steenburgen are among the film’s most affecting. Jacobs is pretty good, too, really pouring on the Southern California “charm.”
Despite its limitations, there’s enough in “Dean” to make us wonder what Martin will do next.