While you might be most familiar with “Kodachrome” as the name of a great Paul Simon song, for the purposes of the film of the same name, it refers to a beloved film stock that Kodak discontinued in 2009. Eight years have passed, and the development time on the movie of the same name has almost been as long, and it already feels like relic. This indie dramedy presents yet another tale of family dysfunction healed by a road trip, but watching “Kodachrome” feels like pulling an old photograph out of a box, and realizing any distinctive features have faded away.
The story centers around Mark Ryder (Jason Sudeikis), who works as an A&R rep for a kind of fantasy boutique record label, at least in today’s climate, where secretaries walk around with headsets and our protagonist has a glass walled office. Clearly, no one thought to update the script or even do some cursory research about the realities of independent labels. Given two weeks to sign the (horribly dated sounding) alterna-rockers The Spare Sevens (seriously, couldn’t anyone involved in this production even pretend we’re in the year 2017, culturally?) or get fired if he fails, Mark receives the news that his famous photographer father Ben (Ed Harris), from whom he’s been long estranged, is dying from cancer. Even more, Ben has his own request/ultimatum — he wants Mark to take him on a road trip to Kansas, to get the last of his newly discovered, long undeveloped rolls of Kodachrome processed at the sole remaining studio that will do the job. Mark wants nothing to do with his deadbeat Dad, but to sweeten the deal, Ben’s manager (Dennis Haysbert) promises to set up a face-to-face for Mark with The Spare Sevens. It also doesn’t hurt that Ben’s attractive nurse Zooey (Elizabeth Olsen) will be along for the ride as well.
Will Mark finally get some closure on his relationship with Ben? Will Mark and Zooey start falling for each other? Will there be wacky adventures and painful moments during the trip? Will the photos on those rolls of film be especially personal and poignant? If you’ve ever seen a movie before, you already know the answer to these questions.
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Predictable might be too generous a word for “Kodachrome,” which goes through the motions this kind of movie requires, but fails to hit any authentic emotions. The script by Jonathan Tropper (“Banshee”) adds nothing new to the model of the successful indie road trip movie perfected by “Little Miss Sunshine” more than a decade ago. Both films feature a cranky, smart mouthed senior, but where the film by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris was populated with unique characters, all in the midst of their own personal arcs, “Kodachrome” is largely empty. Both Mark and Ben have hardened hearts, so the film becomes an exercise in watching them soften toward each other, through moments that don’t feel earned, so much as markers in a template screenplay. Sadly, the talented Olsen is forced to be the film’s moral referee and an underwritten love interest, though that relationship comes off as manufactured rather than sparked from any genuine connection on the page.
For a film about artists and those who work with them, Mark Raso directs the picture with an almost aggressive blandness. Working with cinematographer Alan Pool, the duo seem more than happy to find the most functional shot possible at all times. And while this kind of movie doesn’t require grand visual architecture, when you’re already working from material that lacks ambition, it makes the rest of the workmanlike construction all the more dispiriting. Even the performances are merely adequate, doing what they can with what they’re given, though Harris makes the most of his showy, scenery chewing role and does earn some well-deserved laughs.
“Kodachrome” was beloved by shutterbugs for its gorgeous, elegant, bright colors. There is no such grace in this film, which plods along with all the form and function of a disposable camera. Marked with a conveyer belt quality, “Kodachrome” is every indie dramedy you’ve seen before, just like more of you’ll see after, and unlikely to create a cherished memory that you’ll want to revisit. [C]
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