Remember the indie film from Sundance called “Arlen Faber” that received decent reviews and boasted a good cast in Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Kat Dennings, Olivia Thirlby? Well, it’s been given a new paint of coat in a new title called, “The Answer Man,” and we might have been one of the first few places to report it as even IMDB, Sundance, etc., are still stuck on the title (google results for “The Answer Man,” won’t turn up anything on the film either). Anyhow, here’s the review.
This fresh romantic comedy bears an incredible cast and a tightly written script, but perhaps second guessed its originality and went for stale Hollywood ending. But once you accept the film for what it is, it eases you in to the film’s brand of understated humor propelled by strong performances.
First time writer/director John Hindman gathered an impressive cast of always-greats to tell his fictional story of Arlen Faber who 20 years prior penned an internationally known book, “Me and God” — based on Faber’s supposed conversations with the man upstairs — that redefined spirituality for a generation. Dubbed “the answer man” he now lives in seclusion away from fans and authorial duties due to the sheer guilt that he is a fraud. His life is altered significantly when he encounters two lost souls also on the same not-so-simple quest for answers in life.
Jeff Daniels anchors the not-typical romcom as the lonely, foul-mouthed Faber still searching for the answers himself. When he returns some useless self-help books to a nearby bookstore, its owner, Kris (Lou Taylor Pucci), who just spent a month in rehab, can not afford to buy books because his assistant, (Kat Dennings), didn’t have a key to open the store to keep it running during his absence. Faber throws his back out from angrily lugging the books back home only to end up crawling on all fours to the nearby chiropractor. Enter Elizabeth (Lauren Graham), a struggling single mom and miracle healer who just opened her own chiropractic business, together with her assistant (a sadly underused Olivia Thirlby). Faber uncharacteristically lets his guard down for a much-needed chance at love with Elizabeth. He’s attracted to her and the fact that she’s never heard of him, giving him the opportunity to start fresh.
Meanwhile Kris discovers Faber is indeed the Arlen Faber threatens to reveal his home address unless they come to an arrangement. Kris will accept 3 used books for an answer to one question per day. And the answers he gives the young lad are often profoundly helpful.
Things get hairy when Faber starts to give Elizabeth advice on how to raise her son. Since her husband ran out on her, it’s become her biggest fear that she’s not enough, both mother and father, for her son. Graham plays the role of the single-mom with serene defensiveness and understated fear. The repartee between the two is reminiscent of Nicholson and Hunt in “As Good As It Gets,” their shaky relationship is rife with misunderstanding and stubbornness coming from both sides. Can Faber set the record straight with the woman he loves and the whole world?
An entertaining romantic comedy in the vein of Frank Capra films, there were many moments where we felt the film could have easily fallen apart due to cheesy Hollywood conventions, but Hindman succeeds in tempering the story contrivances with touching realism, mainly credited to the superb witty writing and the actors portrayal.
Despite its theme of religious salvation, the film doesn’t take them too seriously, because Arlen Faber doesn’t take himself seriously. He’s a hack. A brilliant writer, but guilty of leading the world astray. Whether you believe in God or not, when you hit rock bottom you start searching for answers somewhere, anywhere, but often times the answers are found in each other. It would do well serving a larger audience and we hope it gets the attention it deserves. [B+] – Becca Rodriguez
Here’s a clip from the film, there’s no trailer out there yet.
