Alex Lehmann’s “Paddleton” opens on a decidedly (and deceptively) serious note. Michael (Mark Duplass) sits in a doctor’s examination room, looking drawn, haggard, and worried, and for good reason; he has cancerous lesions on his liver, and while his physician won’t come right out and call it terminal, it’s hard to miss the inference. But his neighbor and best friend Andy (Ray Romano), who’s come along for moral support, tries to get some clarity; he proposes an elaborate code wherein the doctor will correct him if he says anything wrong about his friend’s prognosis. She has trouble following. He tries to clarify: “Did you see ‘All the President’s Men’?”
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That scene sets the table well for what’s to come: a modest picture that tackles a big subject with off-hand humor. The notion of “cancer, but funny” isn’t new (“50/50” leaps to mind), but it’s a clean fit for Duplass, who not only co-stars but co-wrote with Lehmann, and co-produces via his Duplass Brothers Productions shingle. And the style suggested by that banner proves an ideal match for Romano, who’s spent the decade-plus since the conclusion of his beloved sitcom expanding his reach as an actor and comic personality; he flourishes in this laid-back, semi-improvisational atmosphere, and generates both genuine chemistry and a believable history with Duplass.
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And that’s important, as the picture is basically a two-hander. Andy and Michael live agreeably low-ambition lives, dominated by bad food, kung-fu movies, and the odd game of their own creation that gives the picture its title (it’s sort of a mash-up of tennis, handball, and golf). After Michael gets his diagnosis, those lives continue, to some extent, uninterrupted; it’s telling, how much time they spend carefully not talking about it. But eventually, the issue is broached. “They give you these pills you can take, and you can do it home,” Michael tells his friend. “I was hopin’ you help me out.” It turns out that the closest pharmacist that will fill the prescription is six hours away, so as Michael puts it, “guess we’re gonna do a little road trip!”
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You’ll probably assume that this is the set-up for a picturesque journey, wherein montages are made and kooky characters are encountered and lessons are learned, and to some extent, you’d be right. But formulaic doesn’t necessarily equal predictable. Duplass and Lehmann’s screenplay indulges in gallows humor and running gags without sacrificing the overall humanity of the story; witness the real pain following their inevitable fight, or the gentleness in the scenes of preparation for the end.
To be sure, the incongruity of the life-and-death subject matter and the offhand style with which it’s conveyed won’t work for all viewers, and frankly, the inherently free-wheeling pace makes it feel longer than its slender 89 minutes. But the easy chemistry of its leads carries it through those bumpy stretches; their rhythms are so low-key and conversational, it almost feels like they were having some kind of an underplaying competition on-set. (It’s a draw.)
We’ve seen what Duplass can do with this kind of material, and he delivers. The revelation here is Romano, and not just because he’s so funny – though that should not be undervalued. This is a guy whose comic timing is so crackerjack that even when he mumbles, it’s timed for a laugh. But that very quality, that ability to sort of throw away a punch line (and do so in such a way that it’s even funnier), is what makes his serious moments so effective; when he tells his friend, late in the picture, that “I should’ve took off work about a month ago, we could’ve done more stuff,” its very lack of preciousness is what makes it so heartrending.
His best moment comes a bit later, a beat of quiet emotional abandon when he finds himself all alone, just for a second – and then stuffs those tears back down, because right then, he needs to be strong for his friend. In that scene, and for the rest of the picture, I was surprised to discover how invested I’d become in these two, and in their relationship; “Paddleton” is so busy not doing much, it blindsides you with its honestly-earned emotions. This thing could’ve been unbearably mawkish, but in choosing to play it close to the bone, its director and actors have come up with something quietly special. [B+]
Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.
