The D Train
Bromance isn’t dead...
If the ‘bromantic comedy’ feels a little tired after three Hangovers and numerous sozzled copycats, you can count on Jack Black to give the sub-genre a shot in the arm. On the surface, The D Train looks like the archetypal ‘Jack Black film’ – as in previous outings like School Of Rock, he plays a small-town lummox who lies, cheats and alienates everybody around him – but writer-directors Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul smartly play on the actor’s ‘manic misanthrope’ persona to deliver something surprisingly subversive. Packed with nostalgia, wry humour and a pumping ’80s soundtrack, their directorial debut is a confident parody of the romantic comedy.
Black plays Dan Landsman, who discovers that one-time high school superstar Oliver Lawless (James Marsden) is now a big-shot actor. Tricking his boss into sending him on a made-up business trip to L.A., Dan tracks Oliver down and convinces him to attend their upcoming high school reunion. So far, so goofball comedy, but after a night out takes an unexpected turn, that flimsy set-up develops into something genuinely interesting, providing a platform for Black to build one of his sturdiest and most unexpectedly moving performances.
Yes, Dan’s an irritating, dishonest oaf, but with the help of Mogel and Paul (who shared a writing credit on dismal Jim Carrey vehicle Yes Man), Black expertly unpicks Dan’s mesh of insecurities. It’s not difficult to understand the character’s obsession with Oliver, especially as portrayed by an impossibly dreamy Marsden, and The D Train triumphs when it zooms in on the way Oliver casually magnifies Dan’s multiple neuroses. Less successful is a clunky subplot involving Dan’s tech-phobic boss (Jeffrey Tambor), but Mogel and Paul are clearly John Hughes fans and, elsewhere, their film excels at splicing the Brat Pack blueprint with a little of Bobcat Goldthwait’s anarchic spirit, imagining what Hughes’ teens might be like 20 years down the line. The result is unconventional, funny and surprisingly poignant. THE VERDICT Refreshingly subversive and featuring a never-better Jack Black, The D Train takes bromantic comedies to their natural conclusion. One of the year’s bravest and warmest comedies. › Certificate 15 Directors Andrew Mogel, Jarrad Paul Starring Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor Screenplay Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel Distributor Sony Running time 101 mins